Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars
by Red Reef
Summary: Akko Kagari always knew she was a normal girl with a normal family with a normal life. Until the day she received a letter from the famous Luna Nova Academy. There she not only learns magic and almost rides a broom, but a great destiny that's been waiting for her...if Akko can survive the encounter.
1. The Star-Born Child

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter One: The Star-Born Child**

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari, of 1-10-4 Jingumae, were about as perfectly normal as you would expect anyone to be, if they said so themselves. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, though if you asked Mr. Kagari, he would do with some excitement in his life.

Mr. Kagari was a simple office worker that worked at a technical firm for…well, he wouldn't bore you with the details. All he would tell you is that it was a good job that provides well enough. He was a thin, almost gangly sort of man with often unkempt brown hair and round, wire-frame glasses. Mrs. Kagari was just as tall as her husband, but looked less awkward with sleek black hair that seemed to glimmer naturally in the sunlight, often making any who meet her compare her to a true Japanese beauty. Mrs. Kagari worked at a local café called Midori-ya with her old school friends the Takamachis and their children.

The Kagaris were happily in love, almost like constant newlyweds. They had well-paying jobs, a good home in a nice neighborhood, plenty of friends, and a close relationship with their families who would visit them whenever they were in the neighborhood. The Kagaris had everything they could have dreamed of….Except for the one thing they wanted most of all.

Despite their seemingly perfect life, the one thing that Mr. and Mrs. Kagari wanted most in this world was a child. Not to say that they haven't tried. For the first few years of their marriage, they had tried very hard to have a baby and resorted to almost any method they could think of to successfully have one. Mrs. Kagari had even asked advice from her dear friend Momoko, who had given birth to two daughters and a son. Despite everything, their efforts bore no fruit; Mrs. Kagari simply could not get pregnant. They had gone to several medical examiners and were told that there was nothing wrong; in fact, according to one doctor, Mrs. Kagari should have already had at least three children by now. It was something that simply could not be explained. Their dreams of a family all but shattered, Mr. and Mrs. Kagari eventually gave up and accept their childless fate.

But as they were soon to find out, fate had other ideas.

When Mr. and Mrs. Kagari woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that this day was different from any other. Mr. Kagari hummed as he picked out his favorite tie for work (the one his wife says makes him look like a stuffy old man), and Mrs. Kagari gossiped away happily on the phone as she teetered a five-layered cake she had made overnight for work.

Neither of them noticed a large, spotted owl peering through the kitchen window.

At half past eight, Mr. Kagari pulled on his coat, picked up his briefcase, and tried to kiss Mrs. Kagari good-bye but missed, because Mr. Kagari bumped his wife's shoulder by accident, causing her to stumble and nearly drop her prized confection. Mrs. Kagari all but shoved her husband out the door at that point; she loved him dearly, but she swore he had two left feet. He got into his car and backed out of the drive.

It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Kagari didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a purple-furred cat with an exaggeratedly curled tail wearing a tiny witch's hat standing on the corner of the street, who indeed appear to be reading a map. The cat seemed to notice his stare, looked back at him unblinkingly, and then waved its tiny paw at him with a Cheshire grin. Mr. Kagari didn't know what he was thinking at the moment, only waving back at the cat on reflex. As Mr. Kagari drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now walking past the drive to his home as Mrs. Kagari trotted down the walkway, also giving her a little wave, which Mrs. Kagari returned without appearing as perturbed as her husband.

Mr. Kagari shook his head, dumbfounded. There was only one reasonably logical explanation: magic.

Magic was nothing new or secret; it had been around since the early medieval ages where everyone turned to magic for the answer to everything. Such things like witches, warlocks, dragons, demon, and angels were all common knowledge, but they had been in sharp decline since the turn of the century when humanity started inventing more advanced technology and the need for magic became less and less. There were those who say that magic is a waste of time and should be left buried in the past, but Mr. Kagari never agreed with them. Magic was an amazing thing full of wonder and enchantment. Mr. Kagari often dreamed of being a magician himself when he was a boy, though he never even learned a simple card trick.

But on the edge of town, childhood fantasies were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks and pointed hats. People with wings sprouting from their backs, halos over their heads, and horns twirling from their skulls. Even people who couldn't even be classified as human and more like dragon-humans or dullahans. There was beyond a shred of a doubt that they were all magical beings! But why would they all show up like this all of a sudden? As far as Mr. Kagari could remember, all types of magical beings had kept themselves separated from normal humanity – something about them not being able to use magic and such outside of certain places or something of that nature. But as he looked up and down the street, he could see that there were dozens, maybe even hundreds of these people just walking around like it was a normal. Mr. Kagari wasn't the only one who seemed to notice this peculiarity; other normal people were looking at them with the same strangeness and some even gave them a wide berth.

The traffic moved on a few minutes later, Mr. Kagari arrived at the office parking lot, his mind moving away from magic and back to statistics.

Mr. Kagari's work desk was in the corner of the office on the ninth floor, right next to the large wall of windows overlooking the street. He found it very hard to concentrate on statistics when there were angels and demons swooping past in broad daylight as well as many of his co-workers who found themselves staring out the window instead of their screens, pointing and gazing open-mouthed. Most of them had gone their whole lives without ever seeing magic, so this was more than overwhelming. The only one who seemed focused on their work was his neighbor, Miss Kobayashi, who continued diligently despite all the ruckus. Mr. Kagari chuckled to himself as she stared at the screen with her cold, dead-fish eyes.

"Pretty strange morning, wouldn't you say, Kobayashi?" asked Mr. Kagari.

"Is it?" said Miss Kobayashi, her eyes never wandering from the computer. "Eh, I guess so."

"Only you could find magical creatures parading down the street uninteresting," said Mr. Kagari jokingly.

"I guess I'm just used to it," said Miss Kobayashi.

Mr. Kagari had a pretty normal afternoon once the excitement of flying magical creatures had died down. He worked his fingers tirelessly writing up new reports and accessing the workload while often asking Miss Kobayashi for help when there was a problem he couldn't understand. It was soon lunchtime and he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a ham and cheese sandwich from the diner. But when he walked inside, he was surprised by the large number of people there, and most of them were like the other magical beings that had been running around all day. Mr. Kagari wasn't sure if he should be uneasy or annoyed since this meant the line to the counter was now longer than normal. He joined the queue nonetheless; he was hungry, after all.

The line was slow to move when he heard a group of gossiping women in witch's hats and robes gossiping at a nearby table. He only managed to hear a few snatches of their conversation before he reached the counter:

"Magic is now free across the world – "

" – finally walk in broad daylight – "

" – thank the Star-Born Child – "

Mr. Kagari couldn't follow what they were saying, but he could only guess that it had something to do with why magical beings are now walking around. Magic was now free across the world…Well, it wasn't any of his business anyway.

He dashed back across the road, already running short on time since he had to wait in line, hurried back up to the office with the sandwich in his mouth. He wanted to put the whole magical world behind him and focus on his statistics again since he knew his boss would chew him out if it wasn't done by the end of the day. Unfortunately, that became a lot harder when he walked back to his desk and saw his desk neighbor being smothered to death by a blonde-haired woman in a maid's outfit. The strangest thing about this woman besides the fact that she was a maid standing in the middle of the office hugging the most stoic woman in the room was the fact that she had horns growing from her head and a large scaled tail poking from under her dress. Miss Kobayashi looked mildly annoyed, at the…dragon maid, but she didn't seem to notice as she was overjoyed by something.

"Tohru…," said Miss Kobayashi in a low voice when Mr. Kagari was close enough to hear. "What are you doing at work? I told you to stay home and hold down the fort. That's your job as a maid."

"I know you did, but I just couldn't resist coming to see you, Miss Kobayashi!" Tohru the Dragon Maid squealed with excitement. "Especially not on this, the joyous of days!"

"And why exactly is it the 'joyous of days'?" asked Miss Kobayashi. "And why couldn't it wait until I got home?"

"Because it's literally the most magical time in the world to celebrate!" shouted Tohru the Dragon Maid, twirling happily in place. "Our darkest days are finally behind us! The Eclipse Queen is finally defeated and the Star-Born Child has been birthed at last! Magic that was once confined to Ley Lines has now been released into the world! Magic is now free for everyone, which means we don't have to hide anymore! Isn't that great, Miss Kobayashi?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Miss Kobayashi, having largely ignored her speech and went back to work. "Could you back home now please?"

"Why are you so cold?" cried Tohru the Dragon Maid.

Eventually, Tohru the Dragon Maid did go home and everyone went back to work as usual.

Mr. Kagari finished work after five o'clock that evening and walked back to his car in the parking lot where he saw that the streets were still filled with a mingling of normal humans and magical people. He was reminded again of Tohru the Dragon Maid's proclamation: that the magic was now spread across the world and magical beings were free to warder where they chose. Everything seemed okay now, but he knew there was eventually going to be a huge upheaval and people all over the world weren't going to be taking this lightly, especially the government. It was not secret that political figures openly loathed magic in fear of losing power, especially the statesmen in England. Well, there was no point in worrying about it now, Mr. Kagari thought as he stepped into his car and drove home. He would just have to accept what came next.

As he pulled into the driveway of his home, the first thing he saw was the purple cat in the witch's hat he'd spotted this morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall, grinning at him like he was some kind of amusing program. He heaved a heavy sigh and walked over to the cat, patting it on its head; the cat purred at his touch.

"I guess you're the least strange thing I've seen all day," he said to the cat.

Mr. Kagari left the cat on the garden wall and let himself into the house, wondering if his wife had a strange day like his.

As it turned out, Mrs. Kagari's day was even more eventful than her husbands. She had arrived at Midori-ya early to drop off her cake when she had accidentally bumped into a group of witches during her walk. Luckily, the witches were nice enough to use their magic to fix the cake she dropped and even used a levitation spell to help carry it. That was only the beginning of it. All day, she had been serving all kinds of people from angles and demons to vampires, snow women, and succubus. But the real topper was when Momoka had brought her three-month old daughter, Nanoha, to work that morning and the tiny baby ended up blasting a spider-woman that scared with what Mrs. Kagari described as "the pink beam of death".

"Momoka thinks Nanoha might be a witch," Mrs. Kagari told him over dinner. "You should have seen Shiro's face when he found out. At first he was scared because he thought the spider-woman would sue him, but then he was so thrilled that his daughter knows magic. Imagine, if she's already this magical when she's a baby, just think about what she'll be like when she gets older. Momoka thinks she might even get enrolled in Luna Nova."

"That famous magic school in England?" asked Mr. Kagari. "Well, that's pretty ambitious."

"Imagine if we had a daughter that went to Luna Nova," said Mrs. Kagari, her eyes glazing over half-finished meal.

"Yeah…yeah, that would be something," said Mr. Kagari halfheartedly.

They were doing it again, Mr. Kagari knew. Despite trying to find fulfillment in their lives with their work and friends, nothing could replace their desire for a child of their own. Mr. and Mrs. Kagari tried to push the thought from their minds as they cleaned up after dinner and tried to distract themselves with some television just in time to catch the last report on the evening news:

"And finally, magic is in the air, and I mean that in the most literal sense. Many people all over the country have reported strange sightings of non-humans roaming through the streets at all times of the day. Although these Demi-Humans as the local media has been calling them are normally restricted to areas with high potency of magic based on Ley Lines, there have been hundreds of sightings of Demi-Humans in almost every region in the country and – wait a minute, I'm receiving an update, folks," The newscaster reached for a sheet of paper handed to him and read it. "This just in. It seems that these strange phenomenon are not just happening in the Land of the Rising Sun, but in all parts of the world. Yetis buying produce in a Chinese market street. Mermaids surfing in Miami. Americans electing a competent president. It's as if the whole world has been turned upside down.

"In other news, it seems that the United Nations has called an emergency summit in the wake of this magical uprising as some people are calling it. There is much speculation about what details will be spoken at the national summit, but it is known that the Earl of Hanbridge is planning on attending as well. As a vocal advocate of anti-magic regulations, you can bet that the Earl will be making his opinion known. On the other side of the fence, the Duchess Bernadette Cavendish will also be making an appearance representing the Demi-Human side. I can practically see the sparks flying already."

"Guess we're not the only ones dealing with this weirdness as of late," said Mr. Kagari lightly. "Surfing mermaids, shopping Yeti, Americans gaining some common sense – you can definitely tell there's magic at work. I wonder what caused all this."

"Well, I think it's wonderful," said Mrs. Kagari. "Magic is a precious thing. I can't understand why those stuffy old men would want to stifle it."

"A lot of people feel that magic doesn't have a place in the modern world," said Mr. Kagari understandingly. "But mostly it's because a lot of people are afraid of change, especially something as drastic as this. You know there's going to be a lot of hard times ahead before things get better."

"Ugh, why do you always have to make sense," mumbled Mrs. Kagari exasperatedly.

"Because it keeps you from getting arrested for punching a police officer," said Mr. Kagari teasingly.

"That was one time!" Mrs. Kagari yelled. "And you weren't there! He was practically undressing me with his eyes!"

Mr. Kagari laughed as his wife tossed a throw pillow at his face; the subject of the new world ahead temporarily pushed from their minds as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Kagari was in the bathroom, Mr. Kagari crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down the street as though it were waiting for something. It noticed Mr. Kagari staring out the window, turned to him with its usual Cheshire grin, and tipped its hat to him.

Mr. Kagari shook his head and shut the curtains; his day was already strange enough without that cat looking into his window.

The Kagaris got into bed. Mrs. Kagari fell asleep quickly but Mr. Kagari lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last thought before he fell asleep was that even if the world was changing and Demi-Humans were finally coming out was that there was no reason for him or his wife to be worried. The Kagari were about as perfectly normal as you would expect anyone to be….He couldn't see how either of them could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over – it couldn't affect _them…._

How very wrong he was.

Mr. Kagari might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of the road. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two fairies swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

A woman appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appearing so suddenly and silently you'd have thought they'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's curly tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Nothing like this woman had ever been seen in the neighborhood before, but then again, most things today have never been seen in Japan period. She was short, stooped and very old, judging from the faded color of her pale green hair. She wore a red jacket over dark purple hooded dress that brushed against the ground, a necklace of green stones, a white scarf, rectangular lenses, and a large hat. This woman's name was Miranda Holbrooke.

Miranda Holbrooke was busy rummaging in her coat, looking for something. But she did seem to realize she was being watched, because she looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at her from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse her. She chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."

She found what she was looking for inside her pocket. It seemed to be a crystal bottle. She pulled off the topper and held it up on the air as a purple mist wafted from the opening. The purple mist drifted to the nearest street lamp and swallowed the light with a little pop. The mist moved to the next lamp and flickered into darkness. The Light-Eater did this twelve times until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching her. If anyone looked out of their window, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Holbrooke corked the Light-Eater, slipped the bottle back inside her coat, and set off down the street toward the Kagari's home, where climbed up to sit on the wall next to the cat. She didn't look at it, but after a moment she spoke to it.

"I must say, I am surprised to see you here, Blair."

She turned to smile at the cat, but it had gone. Instead she was smiling up at a voluptuous and scandalously clad woman in a very tight dress that effectively displayed her curvaceous figure and her head topped off with the same witch's hat the cat had worn. He short purple hair curled on either side of her face, resembling the cat's tail. She smiled down at the shorter woman with her wide, cat-like grin.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked teasingly.

"My sweet little Blair, only you would wear such a raggedy hat as a cat."

"It's not raggedy, it's stylish!" said Blair the Witch Cat, pouting with her arms crossed. "You just don't have any sense of style."

"I'm far too old to understand the latest fashion trends," said Holbrooke amusingly. "So, have you been here all day? I would have imagined at girl like you would be off celebrating. I must have passed a dozen festivals and parties on my way here."

"Oh yeah, nobody wasted time celebrating, all right," said Blair, frowning worriedly. "I get why everyone is so excited now that magic once trapped in the Ley Lines has now been freed into the world's atmosphere. This means that Demi-Humans don't have to hide anymore and they're free to use magic wherever they like, but did they have to come out all at once? The humans are wasting no time. I heard it on the news." She jerked her head back at the Kagari's dark living room window. "The world leaders are gathering to get a handle on the situation; especially that damned Earl of Hanbridge. You can bet he's going to do everything in his power to make life miserable for the Demi-Humans."

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," said Holbrooke gently. "For now, let us just bless the Seven Stars that we have reason to celebrate now. After all these years living in terror of tomorrow."

"Eh, I guess you're right," said Blair, leaning against her palms and staring into space. "I guess everyone deserves a little bit of a break after everything that happened. Magic is finally free on the same day that the Eclipse Queen has finally been banished….Or at least that's what people are saying nowadays."

"Let them believe what they want," said Holbrooke. "At least for the time being. You can never tell when the darkness will return. We should just be grateful for this respite. Would you care for an umaibo?"

"A _what?_ "

"An umaibo. They're a kind of Japanese snack I've become rather addicted to."

"Um…no, thanks," said Blair strangely, as though she didn't think she could trust strange foreign snacks. "Anyway, even if the Eclipse Queen _is_ gone – "

"My dear little Blair, surely someone such as yourself can call her by her name? All this 'Eclipse Queen' nonsense – for years I have been trying to persuade people to call her by her proper name: _Aradia_." Blair flashed her golden eyes at the diminutive woman, but Holbrooke, who was unwrapping an umaibo stick, seemed not to notice. "It just seems like a whole lot of bluster to keep calling her the Eclipse Queen. I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Aradia's name."

"I know you haven't," said Blair, "but you're different. If you ask any Demi-Human on the street who the most powerful witches are, it always comes down to three names: Miranda Holbrooke, the Eclipse Queen, and Shiny Chariot. In some ways, the Eclipse Queen – oh, all right, _Aradia_ , was frightened of you."

"You flatter me," said Holbrooke calmly. "I am getting along in my age and I'm not nearly as powerful as I once was. If anything, I would saying that Aradia or Shiny Chariot could definitely surpass me if they wanted to."

"What're you talking about, granny? You could whoop either of their asses with both hands tied behind your back."

"It's lucky its dark. I haven't blushed so much since Porlyusica complimented me on my new earmuffs."

Blair shot a sharp look at Holbrooke out of the corner of her eye and said, "The Demi-Humans emerging are nothing next to the _rumors_ that are flying around. You know what everyone is saying? About why she's disappeared? About what finally banished her?"

It seemed that Blair had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Holbrooke with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" as saying, she was not going to believe it until Holbrooke told her it was true. Holbrooke, however, was choosing another umaibo stick from her pocket and did not answer.

"What they're _saying_ ," she pressed on, "is that last night Aradia turned up at the Grand Triskellion seal. They said that she was trying to pull all the magic from the Ley Lines into herself, to make herself unstoppable. They're saying that Shiny Chariot went to intercept her. There must have been a very dangerous battle, because the seal was broken last night – the Grand Triskellion was destroyed in the fight. That's why the Ley Lines were shattered and the magic now mingles in the air. It was like magic itself was _fighting back_. And then…she was just…destroyed. After everything she's done…all the people she killed…Aradia was just defeated…just like that."

"And do you know why that was, Blair?" asked Holbrooke. "Why Aradia, who was considered the most powerful witch of the age, was defeated?"

"People are saying that the Great Witch Jennifer's prophecy had come true," said Blair, trembling slightly. "They say that it was the Star-Born Child, given birth by the seven stars themselves. They say that when the Child was born, Aradia's power somehow broke – and that's why she's gone."

Holbrooke nodded grimly.

"But – but that doesn't make any sense," faltered Blair. "I may not know much about magic as you do, granny, but I'm sure as the sun will rise that there is no possible way that a child could simply be born from magic alone. The greatest witches of every age have tried to create life, but they always failed. And even more than that, there's no conceivable way that a child who was only born for a few moments could destroy Aradia when you and Chariot failed to do it. There's a logical explanation for this, right?"

"I will not pretend to understand it myself," said Holbrooke. "Only Chariot knows what truly occurred at the Grand Triskellion, but she has become oddly silent on the matter."

"Ugh, i should have been there," said Blair. "But instead, I got wrapped up in all that DWMA business in America. If I had been there myself..."

"What happened changed a great deal, both to us and to the world," said Holbrooke sagely. "Whatever Chariot witnessed in that forest is hers to reveal when she feels the time is right." She took a golden watch from her pocket and examined the time. "Chariot is late. I suppose it was her who told you I'd be here, by the way."

"You know old friends can't keep secrets from each other," said Blair with her usual Cheshire grin. "Though she didn't really explain to me _why_ you're here, of all places."

"I've come to bring the Star-Born Child to the Kagaris. They are childless, though the desperately desire one. I think she would be very happy here."

"Wait, you're seriously gonna drop the kid off _here_?" yelped Blair, jumping to her feet and pointing at the Kagari household. "Don't get me wrong, I've been watching them all day and I think they're the sweetest couple ever. They're pretty nice and they have decent lives and good friends, but it's just so…random! You're expecting the Star-Born Child to come and live with a couple of average humans?"

"It's the best place for her," said Holbrooke firmly. "Mr. and Mrs. Kagari will be loving parents to her, they will raise her right. And when she is old enough, they will be able to explain everything to her. I've written them a letter."

"A letter?" repeated Blair faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, granny, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people are the most normal, non-magical humans I've ever seen. They'll never be able to understand what she is, what she can do! She'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Star-Born Child day in the future – there will be books written about her – every human and Demi-Human will know her!"

"Exactly," said Holbrooke, looking very seriously over the top of her glasses. "It would be enough to turn any girl's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something that happened moments after she was born! Can't you see how much better off she'll be, growing up as a normal girl living a normal life away from all that until she's ready to take it?"

Blair, opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the girl getting here, granny?" She eyed his coat suddenly as though she thought she might be hiding the girl underneath it.

"Chariot is bringing her."

"You think it's a smart idea trusting Chariot with something as important as this. I was her best friend for ten years and she wasn't always the most responsible person. Remember that one potions class where she made a forest of mushrooms that nearly destroyed the school."

"How could I forget – we spent weeks cleaning out the halls," said Holbrooke amusingly. "But nevertheless, it was Chariot who found the girl. It will be Chariot who brings her. We simply have to trust her."

"I'm not saying I wouldn't trust her with something like saving the world and all," said Blair wearily, "but we're talking about a little kid here. You have to admit she can be a little careless and – is that shooting star flying towards us?"

Holbrooke blinked animatedly and turned her head to follow Blair's line of sight. One of the stars in the skies was not like the other; it was glowing a brilliant shade of green and zipping back and forth across the sky like an irritated firefly before plunging in the middle of the street, exploding in a small display of flashing lights bright enough to illuminate the neighborhood. Blair hissed and Holbrooke seemed to take the display in stride as the light dimmed and darkness swallowed the street again. A moment of silence passed and thankfully no one on the street seemed to notice the light show out their windows.

A young woman strode out of the darkness; her short hair was red like a burning flame that matched her heated-red eyes. There was little doubt that she was a witch of great caliber and dressed to match her flamboyant style: a loose-fitting white jacket with exaggeratedly open sleeves and coattails and a short skirt and thigh-highs matched with a flapping red cape and a white pointed witch's hat decorated with a single golden star. In one hand she carried a staff with seven marble-like crystal embedded in the surface and in the other was a small bundle of blankets.

"Chariot," said Holbrooke, sounding relieved. "At last. I was starting to get worried something had happened."

"I actually did get lost halfway across Mongolia," said Chariot. "I had to stop by a trading outpost for directions, and then I had to double time in all the way here. Thankfully, the little tyke fell asleep just as we were crossing the Pacific."

"But was the light show really necessary?" asked Blair dryly. "You could have woken up the entire neighborhood."

"It is fine," said Holbrooke gently, eyeing the small bundle. "So this is really her? The Star-Born child?"

"See for yourself," said Chariot.

She crouched down to Holbrooke's height while Blair leaned forward over the bundle of blankets. She gently unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small baby girl with a tuft of chestnut-brown hair, fast asleep. Chariot cautiously rested the baby against her shoulder and she slid the blanket further down until they could see seven four-point stars marking the child's back in a peculiar pattern.

"Are those - ?" whispered Blair.

"Yes," said Chairot, slowly bundling the baby back up. "The Marks of the Seven Stars. It is undoubtedly her."

"Couldn't you do something to fix it, granny?" Blair turned to Holbrooke.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the Eastern Badlands. Well - give her here, Chariot – we'd better get this over with."

Holbrooke took the baby in her small arms and turned toward the Kagari's house.

"I can't help but feel that this is all my fault," said Chariot in a small, almost defeated tone of voice. She brushed her hand across the baby's small tuft and gently caressed the girl's cheek. The child unconsciously nuzzled against Chariot's warm touch, grasping her tiny hands around the woman's pinky. "It's because of me that all of this is happening. That she is forced to endure this curse…."

"Hey, that's not true," said Blair gently. "I'm sure that whatever happened, you did the best you could."

"But it wasn't enough," said Chariot somberly.

Chariot held up her staff in front of her face, staring at the gems that sparkled despite there being no light to reflect upon. Then she grasped the uppermost jewel on the scepter with her fingers and plucked it out of the groove with a sharp _snap_ that echoed in the empty streets. Chariot bent forward over the bundle of blankets once more and tucked the jewel inside next to the baby; the girl turned towards the new touch in her sleep and clutched the gem in both hands.

"After everything I've done, this is the least I can do for her," said Chariot, standing up and taking a step back. "The rest of them will have to be scattered – safely protected until she's ready for the responsibility."

"I think that would be for the best," Holbrooke agreed. "She has a heavy burden to bear…when she is older. But for now…."

Holbrooke, Blair, and Chariot silently stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. Holbrooke laid the child gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of her coat, and tucked it inside the child's blankets. For a full minute, the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Chariot's had gripped her staff roughly, Blair blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usual shone from Holbrooke's eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Well," said Holbrooke finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here any longer. "We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"I don't think I will," said Chariot in a very muffled voice. "I still have a lot of amends to make – a lot of unfinished business before I disappear. Take good care of her, Blair – good night, Professor Holbrooke."

Wiping her eyes furiously on her sleeve, Chariot raised her staff into the sky and exploded in a wave of green, mystical energy, shooting off into the sky to join the twinkling stars and disappear into the night.

"I suppose I'll leave the rest to you, Blair," said Holbrooke, nodding to her. Blair sniffled in reply.

Holbrooke turned, stepped over the low wall once more, and walked down the street. On the corner she stopped and took out the crystal Light-Eater. She pulled off the stopper and the purple mist floated back to the dead street lamps, returning their missing lights so that the road glowed suddenly orange and she could make out a purple-furred cat in a tiny witch's hat curling up to a bundle of blankets on the doorstep.

"Good luck, sweet innocent child," she murmured. She turned on her heel and with a swish of her coat, she was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedge of the Kagari household, which lay silently and tidy under the starry sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. The Star-Born Child rolled over inside her blanket without waking up. Her small hands held closed on the crystal marble beside her and she slept on, not knowing that she was special, not knowing she was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Kagari's scream as she opened the front door to take out the trash, nor that she would spend the next few years raised to be a normal girl with a normal family living a normal life….She couldn't know that at this very moment, Demi-Humans meeting all over the world were holding up their glasses and toasting to the messiah.

They toasted to Atsuko Kagari – the Star Born Child.

* * *

 **Most of those who are reading this are probably coming from my other story, Ben 10: Omnisentience, and are probably worried that just because I'm starting a new story that I'm not gonna work on the other one. Well, that's not true. Ben 10 is still going, it's just that sometimes I lose motivation for one thing and become distracted as a result, which makes it take longer to do. But by writing this story, I can become motivated again to write Ben 10. And I've been into LWA since the first OVA and always thought about doing something like this, but never really had the idea fleshed out until now.**

 **To all those wondering, no it's not going to be an exact copy of the books. It follows a similar guideline, but the entire plotline is completely changed. There is an overarching plot between Akko, Shiny Chariot, and the main villain Aradia that goes in a completely different direction that the HP books. You may have already seen some of these changes because magic is not a secret in this world, Demi-Humans walk freely with normal humans, and there are a lot of political and religious undertones mixed in. I promise, you won't be disappointed.**

 **Next Chapter: The Enchanted Parade**


	2. The Enchanted Parade

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Two: The Enchanted Parade**

Nearly eleven years had passed since the Kagaris had woken up to find a small baby and the purple cat in the witch's hat curled up on their front step and from then on life had changed. The sun rose on untidy front garden strewn with a few holes here and there and lit up the handmade wooden sign with the Kagari name hanging off the door; it crept into the living room, which was slightly messy with sheets of paper on the coffee table, coats thrown carelessly on the back of the sofa, and one or more missed hairballs scattered about the floor. The photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Eleven years ago, there had been a lot of pictures of a pink-faced baby wearing different onesies, most often themed around animals. But Atsuko Kagari was no longer a baby, and now photographs showed a chestnut-haired girl riding her first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair with her father, playing (and losing) video games against her mother, and entertaining her pet with cat toys. For eleven long, happy years, Atsuko Kagari lived a fairly quiet and normal life blessed with loving parents, wonderful friends, and…well, she could honestly do better in school.

Yes, her life was pretty normal...but it wouldn't be much longer.

Atsuko Kagari laid asleep face down in her pillow, spittle dribbling from her open mouth down her chin and pooling on her sheets. She did not flinch or stir when the first light of the morning fell over her bed, only drifting deeper into unconsciousness. Thankfully, her mother was more than accustomed to her sleeping habits and was always the one to get her up first thing in the morning.

"Akko, get up! You're going to sleep the day away and I don't want to hear you complaining about oversleeping!"

Akko shot up from her bed with a start, drool still dripping down her chin. Her mother rapped on the door again.

"Hurry up, or you'll be late!" she shouted. Akko heard her walking down the stairs and the clattering of the frying pan being put on the stove. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and wiped the drool off with the sleeve of her nightshirt, trying to remember the dream she had been having. It had been a good one. She had been flying with Shiny Chariot. She knew it was Shiny Chariot because Akko kept a large poster of her favorite entertaining tacked to the wall next to her bed. It wasn't the first time Akko had this dream, but it was always her favorite.

Someone rapped at the door again and this time her father's voice came through.

"Akko, are you up yet?" he asked.

"Almost," said Akko sleepily.

"Well, you might want to get a move on. Your friends are gonna be here in a couple of hours and it would be a little awkward if the birthday girl missed her own birthday."

Akko snapped out of her stupor immediately.

"Uh, I'll be out in a few minutes!" yelped Akko, practically throwing herself out of bed. "I just need to get changed!"

"Well, make it quick. Blair's litter box needs changing before you go."

Today was June 21st. It was her birthday – how could she have forgotten? Akko was in a rush to strip out of her sleepwear and ended up falling on her face when her shorts caught around her ankles. She dragged herself over to the closet and started picking out her clothes for the day when remembered something she left on her bedside table. It was her necklace. The marble-like crystal glimmered in the sunlight showing through her window before she snatched it up. She definitely wasn't going to forget this.

When she was dressed she went down the stairs, through the hall, and into the kitchen. A small pile of presents was tucked neatly in the middle of the table and Blair perched herself on the very top as if claiming the tiny mountain for herself. When Akko had walked through the door, Blair had pounced from her place of the present peak and landed on the young girl, balancing herself precariously on Akko's shoulder as she nuzzled her owner's cheek with an affectionate purr. Akko giggled and scratched cat's chin.

Blair had always been a strange cat whether it was the tiny witch's hat that she always wore, or how she never seemed to age, or how the purple-furred feline almost acted as if she were human. She had been a lifelong companion to Akko since the moment she arrived on the Kagari's doorstep with only her necklace and a letter.

Yes, Akko knew she was adopted – her parents had told her last year when they felt she was old enough to understand. It explained why her skin was paler than her parents, why her hair color didn't match either of them, and why they had brown eyes while hers were practically red. But the one thing that set Akko apart the most was the strange series of scars on her back: seven four-point stars lined up in a pattern in the shape of the Big Dipper. Akko thought it was cool, but she always wondered where she got them and it was one of the first questions she asked when her parents made the big reveal.

"We can't tell you that, Akko," her mother said with a sad look. "It's just something you'll have to wait until you're older."

" _Wait until your older –_ that was one of the oldest and cheapest answers a parent could use. But Akko didn't question it any further. It was enough that they were willing to take in a strange baby; she knew they were only looking out for her.

Mr. Kagari entered the kitchen as Mrs. Kagari turned over the birthday pancakes.

"There's the birthday girl," he said enthusiastically as he pecked his daughter's head. "You excited about today?"

"I've been waiting all month for this!" said Akko excitedly as she took a seat at the table while Blair walked off. "Hikari heard a rumor that they were bringing a troupe of acrobatic vampires, but Kyoko-chan and Yuki-chan think she might be exaggerating again, which wouldn't surprise me. We're probably gonna avoid the Dragon Slayer exhibit for Kanna-chan's sake. Oh, and – and – "

"Okay, calm down, you little gremlin," said Mrs. Kagari teasingly as she filled their plates with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. "Let's just get through breakfast and presents first."

But it was hard for Akko not to be excited, especially when the greatest birthday present was to spend the day at the annual Enchanted Parade in Shibuya. Akko visited the parade every year with either her mother or her father for as long as Akko could remember. Akko had been enamored by magic since the very beginning, ever since she made friends with a little witch girl in kindergarten and she used a spell to make flowers flood the classroom. Akko had been learning anything and everything she could about magic and even tried do magic herself when she jumped off the roof straddling a broom trying to make it fly when she was six (thankfully, her father had arrived home from work and caught her just in time). But if there was one thing that truly drove her to love magic, it was Shiny Chariot.

Akko had never seen Shiny Chariot in person, but she did stumble across some old videos of her one day when she was browsing the internet for famous witches. From the first show, Akko immediately fell in love with Shiny Chariot's flashy performances, using magic to craft tales of witches and dragons, filling the skies with explosions of lights and fairies. Akko couldn't describe the feelings that stirred in her chest when she watched Shiny Chariot soar through the stars, casting a gaze that made her feel like she was singling out Akko, making her feel special. And those words that made Akko's heart swell every time she heard them: " _a believing heart is your magic."_

"Akko…Akko!"

"Bwa!" yelped Akko, snapping out of stupor.

"You were daydreaming again, sweetie," said Mrs. Kagari with a hint of amusement.

"Meanwhile, Blair decided that she should help herself to some bacon and eggs," said Mr. Kagari.

Akko blinked and looked down at her plate with a surprised shriek. Blair had already worked her way through Akko's bacon and eggs and was now the middle of scarfing down her second pancake. Blair smirked mischievously as Akko lunged for the cat, bouncing over her extended arms and prancing out of the kitchen.

"Blair, you rotten little thief!" screamed Akko, chasing after the feline. "You are in so much trouble when I get my hands on you!"

At that moment the telephone rang and Mrs. Kagari wet to answer it while Blair skittered back into the kitchen and Akko flew in after her with an impressive dive that sent her sliding across the smooth floor. Blair changed directions at the last second and Akko smacked face first into the table leg, knocking the entire thing off kilter and causing an avalanche of presents to come crashing down on top of her head. Blair strutted back to Akko with her usual Cheshire grin as Akko popped her head out of the pile, glaring angrily at the cat and Mr. Kagari seemed to act like this was a regular occurrence. Akko was digging her way out of the pile when Mrs. Kagari came back from the telephone looking worried.

"That was Shiro from Midori-ya," she said. "Miyuki is out sick and Kyouya is attending a college seminar. They're short-staffed at the shop and they want me to fill in. I tried to tell them that it was my day off, but there is a larger order than usual today….I can't take Akko and her friends to the parade."

Akko tripped on one of her presents, but she didn't notice as he mouth fell open in horror. Her father was already pulling double shifts at work to meet a deadline since a couple of his coworkers had completely screwed up something that Akko couldn't understand, so he was unable to take Akko and her friend to the parade today. They had hoped that Mrs. Kagari would have been able to take them, but that dream was quickly snatched away at the last second.

"B-B-But, there's someone else that can take us, right?" sputtered Akko frantically.

"We could call your sister," Mr. Kagari suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous, dear, you know she hates magic," said Mrs. Kagari. "It goes against her religion or something like that. Oh, what about Miss Kobayashi. She likes Akko."

"She's working even more shifts than me to meet the deadline," said Mr. Kagari. "I swear, you would think she's a robot. What about the other parents?"

"They all made plans since they thought I was taking the kids today," Mrs. Kagari rejected.

"We could just go on our own," Akko put in hopefully on her knees with her hands folded in a pleading motion. "Pleeeese, can we go ourselves? We'll be super responsible!"

"You think we're gonna let a group of eleven year old girls wander Shibuya unsupervised?" said Mrs. Kagari strictly, slapping her hand on the table to emphasize her tone. "No way! Absolutely not! That's a perfect recipe for one of you to getting kidnapped!"

"I'm sorry to say it, Akko, but I'm afraid you'll have to miss the parade this year," said Mr. Kagari.

If you listened closely enough, you could hear Akko's heart shattering into a million tiny pieces. Akko lips quivered and her eyes started to water as she slumped dejectedly on the floor, but she knew that no amount of tears would change the circumstances (especially when the whole crying thing stopped being effective at six years old). Blair meowed and nudged Akko's elbow with her head trying to cheer the girl up, but Akko didn't feel like being cheered up at the moment.

Just then, the doorbell rang – "oh no, they're here!" said Mrs. Kagari frantically – and a moment later Akko was thrown flat on the floor when what looked like a blonde missile hit her from behind. Akko groaned and turned over to stare up at her friends that had walked into the kitchen with Mrs. Kagari. There was Hikari Takanashi the blonde vampire, Kyoko Machi the dullahan, Yuki Kusakabe the snow woman, and Kanna Kobayashi the Dragon Girl. Akko peeked over Hikari's shoulder and noticed that Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Tohru, was also here.

"Hey, Akko-chan, you ready for the parade!" Hikari yelled unnecessarily loud. When Akko didn't respond in kind, she blinked and noticed Akko's slightly reddened eyes. "Are you okay? Were you crying?"

"Hikari, I said you should stop tackling Akko like that," Yuki chastised her.

"It's my fault?" Hikari yelped in shock.

"I'm afraid we have some bad news," Mrs. Kagari told them apologetically. "I've been called to work and I can't take you all to the parade."

The girls groaned in unison and Kanna looked down at the floor in disappointment like Akko did. But then, Tohru threw up her hand and said in a loud voice, "I'll take them to the parade!"

Akko and the girls looked up at the dragon maid hopefully.

"Are you sure that's all right?" asked Mrs. Kagari worriedly. "I don't want to impose on you."

"It's nothing!" said Tohru confidently, puffing out her chest with a smirk. "After all, I am a super amazing world class maid! Just leave the kids to me! They'll be just fine!"

"Well, if you're sure," said Mrs. Kagari, but also looked slightly relived as the girls started cheering in the kitchen.

Half an hour later, Akko, who couldn't believe her luck, was sitting in in the half packed compartment of the subway train between Hikari, Kyoko, and Yuki while Tohru sat across from them with Kanna napping in her lap on the way to Shibuya Station and the Enchanted Parade. They were talking about everything they intended to do at the parade. Hikari made the executive decision of going to the game booths first despite having a lasting streak of never winning, which Akko constantly teased her about.

"The only reason I never win is because of you, Akko-chan," said Hikari said with a defiant pout. "It's because weird stuff always happen when you around. I bet you're cursed."

"What? No, I'm not!" snapped Akko.

"Yeah, you kind of are," said Yuki lightly.

Akko puffed out her cheeks, crossed her arms, and turned away from her friends in a huff.

She knew her friends were just teasing her, but they weren't wrong. The problem was, strange thing _did_ often happen around Akko and it was no good telling anyone that she didn't make them happen.

One time, Mrs. Kagari, tired of having to pay the barber every time to get Akko's hair trimmed only to look like she hadn't been when she came home, had decided to take matters into her own hands. She had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut her hair until it was just a few inches short of her shoulders, looking quite proud of herself as she turned to grab the hairbrush off the table. But when she turned back around, she received a terrible fright when Akko's hair was inexplicably back to its normal length as if it had just sprouted up like a weed. After several more tries, Mrs. Kagari just gave up and decided to put Akko's hair partially into a short ponytail. Akko had tried many times to explain why she _couldn't_ explain how it had grown back so quickly.

One time near Christmas, Mrs. Kagari had tried to force her into a revolting sweater she got from her magic-hating aunt for their holiday card. The harder she tried to pull it over her head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted Blair (which it did and the cat leered at Akko as she wore it for the photo). Mrs. Kagari explained it away by deciding it must have shrunk in the wash.

And one time during lunch break, she'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. She had been running away from Hikari, who was trying to make Akko touch an worm covered in green slime, when, as much to Akko's surprise as anyone else's, there she was sitting on the edge of the building. The Kagari's had received a very angry phone call from Akko's principle telling them Akko had been climbing school buildings. But all she'd tried to do was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Akko supposed that the wind must have caught her in mid-jump.

But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was her birthday and she was going to her favorite annual event of the year. She wasn't going to let anything screw this day up for her.

While they were riding the subway, Hikari pulled everyone into one of her hyped-up conversations like she usually did. She liked to talk very loudly about every subject she could think of: school, the teachers, her twin sister, Akko's supposed curse (Akko huffed again), the different textures between tomato juice brands, nibbling on people's arms, and the possibility of turning it a bat (which hasn't been proven yet). This morning, it was about last night's dream.

"…and there was a mountain of pancakes you had to tilt you head back and instead of syrup, it was tomato juice!" she shouted excitedly.

"That…sounds kind of disgusting, actually," said Yuki with a grimace.

"I'm sure it's not…that bad," said Kyoko, always having to be the peacemaker.

"I had a dream last night," said Akko, remembering suddenly.

"Let me guess, it had Shiny Chariot in it?" said Kyoko expectantly.

"Well, yeah, but this one was different," said Akko, crossing her arms and tilting her head thoughtfully. "It's kinda like we were flying somewhere but it's all kinda foggy. Urgh…I can't remember what it was about."

"Don't worry, Akko," said Yuki gently. "I'm sure it'll come to you eventually."

Akko hummed to herself, trying to remember any vivid detail she could get from last night's dream, but the only thing she could remember was Shiny Chariot being there, saying something to Akko, words that were muffled and couldn't make out….Oh well, she supposed it wasn't anything important.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the Shibuya Crossing was crowded with fans and families. Tohru bought everyone something from the food stalls: a giant bowl of tomato soup for Hikari, three scoops of ice cream for Yuki, food on sticks for Kyoko, and cotton candy for Akko, while Kanna was satisfied with eating the cicadas that were fluttering in the humid summer air. Tohru tried to trick them to eat her cooked dragon tail meat by disguising it as chicken, but Miss Kobayashi had a sixth sense to text Tohru at that precise moment to tell her " **NO** ".

They then moved on to the game stalls where once again Hikari tried her luck at knocking over the bottles, but somehow managed to bounce the baseball off the stall post and smacked herself in the forehead. Kyoko once again proved to be the most athletic of the group as she sunk shot after shot at the basketball hoops without pausing. Predictably, Hikari decided to be mischievous and handed Kyoko's head to her head body, too caught up in the motion to realize that she wasn't holding a basketball until her head was through the hoop. Kyoko berated Hikari afterwards, but she did end up winning the top prize. Yuki and Kanna tried the goldfish scoops together, but were promptly banned when Yuki kept freezing the water and Kanna ate the goldfish.

Akko had the best morning she'd had in a long time. That's why; afterwards, she felt that she should have known it was all too good too last.

" **The Enchanted Parade will be starting in five minutes!** " said the woman over the festival loudspeakers. " **I repeat, the Enchanted Parade will be starting in five minutes!** "

"The parades about to start!" squealed Akko with excitement as she practically bounced on her toes. "C'mon, we gotten make sure we get the best spots!"

"Akko, wait up!" cried Kyoko as Akko ran ahead of everyone. "We're supposed to stay together!"

"H-Hey, you're supposed to wait for me!" yelped Tohru, having fallen behind everyone else. "I'm the trusty, reliable super maid, remember? Miss Kobayashi will fire me if I lose any of you guys! C'mon, wait up!"

But Akko didn't wait up – she wanted to get the best possible view of the parade street because according to the rumors she read online, the Fairy Tail guild were staring in this year's parade and they always put on the best shows. Unfortunately, when Akko showed up on the street where the parade would be passing by, there was a huge wall of people stretching for at least a mile in either direction, completely blocking off her view. Akko was bouncing on her feet, whining desperately as she searched for a gap in the crowd by the time her friends showed up. Moments later, the loudspeakers blared out, " **The Enchanted Parade shall now begin!"** and the crowd threw their arms in cheers as the marching music began to play.

Akko was even more desperate now. She could barely see the tip of one of the floats over the wall of people and whined loudly when it started to pass.

"No, no, no, no, no!" cried Akko. "We're missing everything!"

"It's okay, Akko," said Yuki gently. "I'm sure we can find a spot down the road."

"But that'll take too long!" whined Akko, rounding up to Tohru. "Can't you just burn them to ashes? You love obliterating humans, right?"

"As much as I'd love to do that – I mean, I'd really love to do that – Miss Kobayashi would get really mad if I burned anyone alive," said Tohru. But seeing Akko slump over depressingly made Tohru feel guilty; she was the birthday girl, after all. "Hey, you know what? I have a better idea."

Before anyone could ask what her big idea was, a magic circle glowed underneath Tohru's feet and the dragon maid exploded in a flash of light. The next thing Akko and her friends knew, they were sitting on Tohru's head in her dragon form overlooking the entire street. Akko and Hikari leaned over the dragon's snout with gleeful smiles while Kyoko clung to one of Tohru's horns and Yuki squeezed Kyoko's head for safety; Kanna took the whole thing in stride. Tohru had to stand on her hind legs to keep herself from squashing any of the humans and was tightly squeezed between two buildings that was really cramping up her legs, but listening to Akko's laughter in her ears made the whole thing worth it. And as a plus, no one seemed disturbed that there was a twenty foot dragon standing behind them.

"This is so awesome!" Akko screamed joyfully.

"This is so terrifying!" Yuki screamed fearfully.

"Shush," Kanna hushed them dully. "Wanna watch."

After Kyoko and Yuki got over the initial panic, everyone sat quietly and watched as each parade float roll down the street with a different attraction that made Akko want to jump to her feet and cheer. Fairy Tail really did have the best attractions. They had a Beauty and the Beast segment with one of the guild members posing as the beast…right up to the point where the beauty transformed into a giant purple iguana and crushed the beast. One float consisted of a water-user and an ice-user dressed as a prince and a princess combining their powers to create an ice palace. Another float had a beautiful redheaded woman dancing with magical swords floating around her very attractive figure. Though Tohru and Kanna didn't particularly care for the pink-haired man spitting fire into the air; they actually growled on sight.

Akko felt her chest swell with unbridled happiness. Even though she had visited the Enchanted Parade every year, she never got tired of it. She loved magic without a shadow of a doubt. For so long she had always dreamed of becoming a witch and performing on stage just like Shiny Chariot….But that's all it really was. Just a dream. Akko wasn't special. She was just a normal girl with a normal family living a normal life.

Halfway through the parade, the Fairy Tail guild released hundreds of creatures made of light that resembled fairies fluttering through the air like a storm of colorful shooting stars. One of the tiny light fairies floated to the top of Tohru's head and stopped in front of Akko, giggling playfully and holding out its hand as if inviting Akko to join. Akko squealed with excitement as she reached out to take the fairy's tiny paw.

She didn't notice that her necklace glimmered.

What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened. One second, Akko was holding the tiny fairy's hand as it danced around her head, the next, she and her friend were thrown with howls of horror as Tohru staggered backwards with a surprised roar.

Akko clung to Tohru's scales and gasped; the little light fairy exploded into a massive green-flamed phoenix equal in size of the dragon. The burning bird spreading its fiery wings, knocking over one of the parade floats, and tilting its head back with an ear-splitting screech. People on the ground level screamed and started running in every direction away from the monster.

Tohru safely managed to deposit Akko and her friends on the ground before she turned back into her human form. Akko stared up in the phoenix's eye and she could have sworn that it was trying to tell her something.

She would never find out because the pink-haired firespitter from the parade suddenly jumped in and sucked the phoenix in his stomach with one huge breath.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked them "What the hell happened here?"

That was the question they were all asking themselves as they rode the subway back home. Because of the phoenix's sudden appearance, the director of the festival had decided to cancel the parade early for everyone's safety, even offering Akko and her friends some complimentary gifts as an apology since they were the ones directly assaulted by the performance. When Tohru dropped them off at Akko's house, Mr. and Mrs. Kagari were already waiting for them, having got off of work early when they heard the news. They expressed their gratitude for Tohru keeping them safe as they nearly hugged the life out of Akko. Tohru said it was nothing and was about to take the other girls home when Hikari had been the one to blurt out, "That huge monster showed up when Akko-chan touched that fairy. I guess she really is cursed, huh?"

Though she only said it as a joke, Mr. and Mrs. Kagari weren't laughing at all. Mr. Kagari waited until the girls were safely out of the house before turning on Akko. Her parents got angry with her like any normal parents would, but this was on a completely different level that it surprised Akko. Mr. Kagari took a deep, cleansing breath and said, "Akko, go to your room and stay there until we sort this out," before he collapsed into a chair, and Mrs. Kagari had to run and get him a strong drink.

Akko lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling much later, unconsciously petting Blair in her lap. She didn't know how long she had been up here and she didn't want to risk upsetting her parents at the moment after seeing how furious her father was. Her mother would likely call her down for dinner and he would be fine by then, but it still made Akko's gut clench uncomfortably.

She lived a happy, normal life with the Kagari for eleven long years, ever since she was a baby that arrived on their doorstep with nothing but purple-furred cat in a witch's hat and a tiny crystal that seemed to go to nothing. She couldn't remember where she had been or who her family was before the Kagaris since she was only a day old at the time. But sometimes, when she was staring off into space during long hours of doing nothing, she came up with a strange vision: seven flashing lights and a burning pain in her back. This, she supposed, was the moment when she got her scars, though she couldn't imagine where all the flashing lights came from. She didn't know anything about herself before arriving at the Kagari's house. Her mother and father seemed to know at least something about her mysterious past, but they were very reluctant to say anything about it. Maybe they were worried Akko wouldn't love them the same way anymore, but that was impossible. She would always love the man and woman that raised her, even if they aren't blood related.

Tomorrow, no doubt everyone at school would be talking about the incident at the Enchanted Parade and Hikari would most likely give her own, exaggerated rendition of what happened. By then, Akko would go back to sitting in her normal boring classes, listening to teachers talk about normal boring school subjects, and she would eat lunch with her best friends like she normally did.

Like everything else in her life, tomorrow would be normal.

* * *

 **And this is my replacement of the whole zoo scene and about Akko's family life in general, which you can already notice is a huge departure from the source material. Akko has a kind and loving family, several Demi-Human best friends, and is an open lover of magic. And you will also notice that the scene in the Enchanted Parade plays a huge role in the overall plot of the series (there will be no parslemouth replacement because I generally see it as useless and uneeded in the longer scheme of things).**

 **Next Chapter: The Letters from No One.**


	3. The Letters from No One

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Three: The Letters from No One**

The incident at the Enchanted Parade had caused an uncomfortable tension between Akko and her parents. They had come to an unspoken agreement never to mention what happened, but there was no hiding how Mr. and Mrs. Kagari would stare at her when they thought she wasn't looking, almost as if they were afraid she might spontaneously combust. The summer holidays had already started and it didn't seem like the tension was going away any time soon. Akko was very reluctant to talk to her parents about anything now in fear that they might still be angry with her, which had never happened before because Akko knew she could always come to them for anything.

Akko was glad school was over and spent as much time as possible out of the house, hanging out with Hikari, Kyoko, Yuki, and Kanna doing whatever they thought of on that particular day. Most days it was just hanging around the beach or eating ice cream in the park or bringing weird things to see if Kanna would eat them (she always did). Akko figured that she might as well enjoy the time they had left of this summer. When the next school year came they would all be going to different schools. Hikari, Kyoko, and Yuki all going to Shibasaki while Kanna, who was younger than all of them, still had a year of primary school left. Akko had also tried to get into Shibasaki, but somehow completely screwed up the entrance exam, so now she was going to Moegi instead, the local public school. Hikari took it worse than her when she told them the news.

"How could you leave me like this?" cried Hikari as she practically glomped on Akko. "Without you, whose arm am I supposed to nibble on when I want to bite something or buy me tomato huice when I forget to bring money or – "

"On second thought," said Akko dryly, "maybe this transfer is a good thing for me and my wallet."

"How can you be so cold?" screamed Hikari. "Akko, you heartless monster!"

"Says the vampire," retorted Akko.

One day in July, Mrs. Kagari took Akko into town to buy her a brand-new Moegi uniform. Girls at Moegi wore sky-blue skirts with matching gold-buttoned suspenders over a plain-white undershirt and stripped ribbons to be worn around the neck. The uniform also came with the option of a sweater or blazer, but it seemed that Moegi was very free on the policy on the uniform as long as they wore the skirt and undershirt. Akko didn't think the uniform looked bad, but it just didn't feel right on her despite her mother's protest. It looked much better on the other girls in the store, especially the two blonde girls in the pink cardigan and the Union Jack coat.

That evening when Akko and her mother came home, Mr. Kagari seemed to ease up on the lingering tension that had be smothering the house and told Akko how proud he was when he saw her in her Moegi uniform. Mrs. Kagari looked like she would burst into tears and said she couldn't believe her little baby was growing up so fast. Akko didn't trust herself to speak when the mood was so happy. She didn't want to say how wrong it felt to be wearing this uniform, like it didn't belong on her.

None of them noticed Blair slinking out the back door with a flick of her tail.

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Akko went downstairs for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. She went to have a look. Her brand-new Moegi blazer was swimming in white water

"What're you doing with my uniform?" she asked Mrs. Kagari.

"I thought it looked a little boring so I decided to change it up a bit," she said pleasantly.

Akko looked in the bowl again.

"Oh," she said, "I didn't realize wet clothes were the new popular trend."

"Don't be silly," said Mrs. Kagari humorously. "I'm dyeing it some to make you stand out. The school is very free about what you wear, especially when a pair of British girls can go waving around their country's flags on their jackets. I was thinking of making it something like Shiny Chariot. I know you love her."

Well, that was certainly one way to stand out on her first day of school, Akko thought. She sat down at the table when Mr. Kagari came into the kitchen with Blair nipping at his heels, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Akko's new blazer. Mr. Kagari opened his newspaper as usual and Blair jumped onto the table like she usually did, but instead of trying to swipe everyone's bacon, she just stared at Akko with her tail flicking behind her, like she was expecting something of her.

Blair's ears perked when they heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Akko," said Mr. Kagari from behind his paper.

"Hey, Blair, go get the mail."

"Akko, how many times have a told you not to train the cat to do everything for you?"

"I don't know, I lost count after a hundred."

She dodged when he father tried to smack her with the newspaper and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Mrs. Kagari's magic-hating sister Kirai, who lived in Hokkaido, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – a letter for Akko.

Akko picked it up and stared at it, her brow raised so far it disappeared into her hairline. No one ever wrote to Akko unless you count the many times her and Hikari got caught passing notes in class. All her friends contacted her through text, her only other relatives very rarely wanted anything to do with Akko because of her opinion on magic, and she never went to the library, so she never got any rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:

 **Ms. Atsuko Kagari**  
 **1-10-4 Jingumae, Shibuya**  
 **Tokyo, Japan**

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish paper, and the address was written in light-green ink. There was no stamp.

Turning the envelope over, her hands trembling, Akko saw a green wax seal bearing a circle with three points.

"Akko, what's the hold up?" called Mr. Kagari from the kitchen. "You're not hiding your report card like last time, are you? Remember what happened when you tried to hide it in the freezer?"

Akko went back to the kitchen, still staring at her letter. She handed Mr. Kagari the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.

Mr. Kagari ripped open the bill, grunted with disgust, and flipped over the postcard.

"Good news," he informed Mrs. Kagari. "You're sister got sick eating a spoiled potato."

"Shuichi, that's a horrible thing to say," said Mrs. Kagari, though she did not try to hide her smile. "Akko, honey, what've you got there?"

Akko was on the point of unfolding her letter, which was written on the same heavy paper as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of her hand by her father.

"Hey!" shouted Akko, trying to snatch it back. "Give it! It's mine!"

"I knew you were trying to hide your report card again," said Mr. Kagari, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went deathly pale as if the letter had sucked out his soul; Akko briefly wondered if it was a good thing that she didn't see the letter first.

"K-K-Kaori!" he gasped.

Blair tried to jump for the letter, but Mr. Kagari held it high out of her reach and let her fall on the floor. Mrs. Kagari took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

"Shuichi! Oh my god – Shuichi!"

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Akko was still in the room. Akko ever-so subtly tried to reach the letter from under the table, but Mr. Kagari pulled it out of her reach at the last second.

"Give it back! I want to read it!" said Akko furiously. "C'mon, it's my letter!"

"Akko, please go to your room," croaked Mr. Kagari, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.

Akko didn't move.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Give me back my letter!" she shouted.

"AKKO – ROOM – NOW!" roared Mr. Kagari, which made Akko jump with a start; her father never yelled at her like that before. When Akko didn't move, he took her up by the scruff of her neck and threw her into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind him. Akko blinked in bewilderment for a moment, but snapped herself out of it and scrambled to the ground to listen at the crack between the door and the floor.

"Shuichi," Mrs. Kagari was saying in a quivering voice like she was about to burst into tear, "look at it, there's no mistaking what this is. I can't believe this is happening? Do you think they know what happened? You don't think they're watching the house, do you?"

"Maybe," muttered Mr. Kagari; Akko could hear him pacing around the room. "We both knew that this was going to happen one day. We always thought that if we raised her normally, it wouldn't, but here it is."

"But what should we do, Shuichi? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want – "

"No," he rejected immediately. "You think after what happened they're just going to accept it? No, no, we should just probably ignore it. If they don't get an answer, then maybe they'll think she's not interested. All we have to do is wait…."

"I just – I just can't lose her, Shuichi," she said with gasping, rattling breaths. "Remember that letter when we found her on our doorstep. I don't want Akko to go through all that again. I – oh, Shuichi, I can't lose my baby!"

"We won't." he answered in a soft, tender voice. "We're not going to lose her. We'll keep her safe, just as we always have."

* * *

That evening when he got back from work, Mr. Kagari went up and visited Akko in her bedroom. He found his daughter lying motionlessly on the bed, Blair curled up on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling. Mr. Kagari heaved a heavy sigh as she sat down on the edge of the bed, saying nothing for the longest time. Then, after a few moments of awkward silence, Akko spoke up.

"Where's my letter?" she asked monotonously. "Who's writing to me?"

"It's…it's nothing you should worry about," said Mr. Kagari, almost as if afraid of speaking. "It was just some solicitation; you know how those things happen. Don't worry, I got rid of it."

"Really?" said Akko disbelievingly. "You and mom seemed really upset over a little solicitation."

"We just don't like scummy people trying to take advantage of our little girl," said Mr. Kagari. Akko shot him a look and Mr. Kagari shook his head, heaving another great sigh. "Look, Akko, you have to understand that everything your mother and I do, it's only because we love you and we want to keep you safe and happy. We may act a little…aggressive in doing so, but it's only because we only want the best for our little girl."

"But how do you know what's best for me?" asked Akko dully. "What if I decide what's best for me?"

"We just…we just try, all right?" said Mr. Kagari. "Just…just remember what I said, all right?"

Akko didn't look at him as he patted her leg gently in reassurance, sat up, and walked out of her room. She absently listened to her father's footsteps going down the stairs and walking into the kitchen. She could hear her mother's voice frantically asking questions and her father only giving short replies.

Akko sighed and subconsciously stroked Blair's fur; the hat-wearing feline purred at her touch. Not too long ago, Akko had been looking forward to the Enchanted Parade for her birthday. Now, after everything that's been happening, she was starting to wish she had skipped her birthday entirely.

* * *

Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Mr. Kagari was sitting at the head of the table reading the newspaper like he usually did, but he was making an apparent effort to hide behind it so he didn't have to look Akko in the eye. Mrs. Kagari was similarly putting all her concentration into cooking the bacon and eggs without any colorful commentary like normal. Akko slumped in her chair depressingly. She had never felt more uncomfortable to be in her own house than she did right now. She was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing she'd opened the letter in the hall.

Just when Mrs. Kagari started serving their breakfast, Blair strolled into the kitchen carrying something in her mouth and jumped on the table in front of Akko. It took her a moment to realize that it was the same yellow envelope from yesterday, written with her name and address in green ink.

With a strangled cry, Mr. Kagari leapt from his seat and dived for Blair at the same time as Akko, bumping their heads together when Blair jumped out of their reach. Mr. Kagari chased after the hat-wearing feline all across the house, which was made difficult by the fact that Akko had grabbed her father around the neck from behind. After a minute of nearly turning the whole house upside down chasing Blair, Mr. Kagari finally caught the cat by the tail, gasping for breath, and snatched Akko's letter from her teeth.

"Go to your room," he wheezed at Akko. "Please – go – just go."

Akko walked round and round her room. Someone knew she hadn't received the first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time she'd make sure they didn't fail. She had a plan.

* * *

The alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Akko turned it off quickly and dressed silently. She mustn't wake her parents. She strolled downstairs without turning on any of the lights.

She was going to wait for the postman on the corner of the street and get the letter for their house first. Her heart hammered as she crept across the dark hall toward the front door –

"AAAAARRRGH!"

Akko leapt into the air; she'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat – something alive!

Lights clicked on upstairs and to her horror Akko realized that the big, squashy something had been her father's stomach. Mr. Kagari had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure Akko didn't do exactly what she'd been trying to do. He shouted at Akko for about a good ten minutes and then told her to go help her mother get breakfast ready. Akko shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time she got back, the mail had arrived, right into Mr. Kagari's lap. Akko could see three letters addressed in green ink.

"I want – " she began, but Mr. Kagari was tearing the letters into pieces before her eyes.

Mr. Kagari called Miss Kobayashi and told her he couldn't make it in for work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.

"See," he explained to Mrs. Kagari through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that's going to work, Shuichi," said Mrs. Kagari skeptically.

"Well, I'm sorry, Kaori, but I'm not just gonna sit around and let them take our little girl away from us," said Mr. Kagari, trying to knock in a nail with a piece of cheesecake Mrs. Kagari had just brought him.

* * *

On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Akko. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.

Mr. Kagari stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Shiny Ray" as he worked, and jumped at small noises, usually caused by Blair when she passed by.

* * *

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Akko found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs Mrs. Kagari had just bought yesterday at the supermarket. While Mr. Kagari made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Mrs. Kagari shredded the letters in the food processor.

"Who on earth want to talk to me this badly?" Akko asked Blair in amazement, who meowed in response.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Mr. Kagari sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather sick, but happy.

"No mail on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspaper, "no more of those damn letters today – "

Blair somehow managed to pry the boards to her cat door off with her nails and something came whizzing through as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Akko spun around just as Blair jumped out of the way, seemingly sensing the approaching danger. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting through the cat door like bullets. Mr. and Mrs. Kagari ducked, but Akko leapt into the air trying to catch one –

"Out! OUT!"

Mr. Kagari seized Akko around the waist and threw her into the hall. When Mrs. Kagari had run out with her arms over her face and Blair bounding in from behind, Mr. Kagari slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That does it," said Mr. Kagari, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his hair at the same time. "I want you both back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some cloths. No arguments!"

He looked so dangerous with a great chunk of his hair missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Akko held Blair close to her chest as the purple-furred cat meowed mournfully, afraid to say a word to her parents and contented herself with just staring at the back of their heads.

They drove. And they drove. Even Mrs. Kagari didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Mr. Kagari would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.

"Shake 'em off…shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.

They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Mr. Kagari stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking motel on the outskirts of a big city. Akko's parents made her share a room with them, almost as if afraid she would suddenly disappear if they weren't watching her. The room had twin beds and damp, musty sheets – definitely not a five star place. Her parents snored quietly but Akko stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill with Blair curled up on her lap, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering….

* * *

They ate dry white rice and very, very soggy natto for breakfast the next day and gave Blair a saucer of milk (she didn't touch it because she thought it smelled funny). They had just finished when the owner of the motel came over to their table.

"Excuse me, but is one of you Ms. Atsuko Kagari? I got about a hundred of these letters at the front desk."

She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address. They had not only accurately predicted where they were staying, but even labeled their specific room number. Akko made a grab for the letter but Mr. Kagari knocked her hand out of the way. The woman stared.

"I'll take them," said Mr. Kagari, standing up quickly and following her from the dingy dining room.

* * *

"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, Shuichi?" Mrs. Kagari suggested timidly, hours later, but Mr. Kagari didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.

"I think dad might be a little insane right about now," Akko said to Mrs. Kagari dully late that afternoon. Mr. Kagari had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.

It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Mrs. Kagari shivered and rubbed her arms for warmth.

"This is madness," she said to herself. "It's not even worth it at this point. It's Monday right now and the Takamachi's are probably backed up on orders because I'm not there to help them."

Monday. This reminded Akko of something. If it was Monday – and you could usually count on Mrs. Kagari to know the days of the week, because of work – then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Akko's magic anniversary. It was a special holiday that Akko made up herself, because it was the day she discovered Shiny Chariot and found her love for magic. She didn't do anything special with her family when the time came - she would just sit on her bed with Blair, watching old videos of Shiny Chariot's performances online. It might not have been important to her parents, but it was something that Akko cherished, though she highly doubted her parents would let her go home because of that.

Mr. Kagari was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Mrs. Kagari when she asked what he'd bought.

"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

It was very cold outside the car. Mr. Kagari was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.

"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Mr. Kagari gleefully, clapping his hand together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.

"I've already got us some rations," said Mr. Kagari. "So all aboard!"

It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. It didn't help when Blair crawled up Akko's coat, taking most of the cover and leaving her to freeze even worse. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Mr. Kagari, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.

The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.

Mr. Kagari's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and three bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.

He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Akko privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer her up at all.

As night fell, the promised storm blew around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Mrs. Kagari found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Akko on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Mr. Kagari went off to the lumpy bed next door.

The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Akko couldn't sleep. She shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, her stomach rumbling with hunger. Her parent's usually loud snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. Akko rolled over again and picked up her smartphone that had been lying on the arm of the sofa, tapping the screen and read the time, seeing that it would be tomorrow in ten minutes. She lay and watched the minutes tick closer and closer in dull fascination, wondering where the letter writer was now.

Five minutes to go. Akko heard something creak nearby. She hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although she might be warmed if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe their house in Jingumae would be so full of letters when they got back that she'd be able to steal one somehow.

Three minutes to go. She heard Blair's claws clattering against the stone floor and saw the purple curly tail slinking past before it disappeared below Akko's vision. She was expecting Blair (two minutes to go) to jump up and curl against her, but she didn't for some reason. That was unusual for the cat.

One minute to go and it would be the fated anniversary. Thirty seconds…ten…nine – maybe she could see if her phone got a signal out here – three…two…one…

 **POP**

A puff of purple smoke exploded in front of Akko's face as she shot upright, staring as the cloud as a slender, buxom woman with purple curled hair and a great witch's hat was suddenly kneeling in front of her.

"Happy anniversary, Akko-nyan!" shouted Blair enthusiastically.

* * *

 **You might be wondering why the Kagaris are trying to avoid giving Akko their letter when they clearly love magic and even said they would be happy to have Akko go to Luna Nova in the first chapter. Well, this reaction is derived from the letter they received when Akko arrived on their doorstep and explained what happened that led to her arrival. They aren't trying to keep her away as much as they are trying to keep her safe in their own way. More will be explained in the next chapter.**

 **Next Chapter: The Magic Cat with the Witch's Hat**


	4. The Magic Cat in the Witch's Hat

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Four: The Magic Cat in the Witch's Hat**

"Happy anniversary, Akko-Nyan!"

Akko pressed her back against the couch cushion, staring with eyes wide as dinner plates at the woman that suddenly appeared in front of her. It took a long moment of mental processing through which Akko could only stare stupidly at her. Once she got her wits about her, however, Akko did the only appropriate thing in this situation:

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

The scream echoed through the tiny shack, making the strange woman jump up with a frightened hiss, and Mr. Kagari came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

"Akko, are you all right?" he shouted. "What is it? What happened – "

His voice died in his throat when he saw the purple haired woman kneeling in front of his daughter. For a quick second, Akko though he was just in a state of shock like her, but then he noticed that Mr. Kagari's eyes seemed to wander a little south of the woman's face. Akko looked back at the woman herself and noticed something that she had missed in the confusion – the woman was naked save for her hat.

"Dad, stop staring at her!" screamed Akko embarrassingly, throwing her blanket at Mr. Kagari's face before rounding to the woman. "And you! Put some clothes on!"

"Aw, why?" the woman whined, leaning forward so that her generous bosom swung a little too close to Akko's face. "It's been years since I've had a chance to really stretch my legs like this. Cloths are so restricting – it feels so much better to be _au naturale_."

"Just put something on!" Akko snapped.

"Ugh, fine," the woman groaned as she flipped off her hat and ran her finger in circles around the rim. " **Pum-Pumpkin Pumpkin!** "

A cloud of purple smoke exploded from the opening in her hat, covering the mysterious woman. When the cloud dissipated after a few seconds, the woman was properly clothed, wearing a black-blue dress that shows off her shoulders and wraps around her neck, long, open sleeves that were unconnected to the dress, a short skirt with a white frill, and long high-heeled boots that curl upwards at the toes. Akko couldn't explain it, but the woman was somehow sexier with her clothes on, making Akko boil inside.

"There, ya happy?" asked the woman with a frown. She strode over to the sofa and took a seat on the opposite side of Akko, who remained frozen in fear and curiosity. "You think you could have at least offered me a saucer of milk or some catnip."

Akko stared at the woman's face half concealed in shadow, her golden eyes twinkling with mirth and her corner of her lips curling upwards in a small smile.

"Ah, look at you," said the woman with a contented sigh. "Hard to believe that just eleven years ago you were just this little lump that I could hold in my arms. You've grown up so much I – I can't believe I'm feeling nostalgic. Me! Pretty weird, huh, Akko-nyan?"

Mr. Kagari finally whipped the sheet off his face and made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, whoever you are!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"I didn't break in at all," said the woman cunningly. "You're the one's that brought me here."

"W-What in god's name are you talking about?" sputtered Mr. Kagari.

"Aw, c'mon, you guys seriously don't recognize me?" said the woman teasingly. "After all these years we lived together? Stealing you bacon every morning at breakfast? Akko-nyan trying to teach me how to do all her chores only for me to make things worse? Those late nights when Akko-nyan felt sad or lonely and I would curl up on her lap and she would always feel better? Do you remember yet?"

Akko sat stupefied across from the woman, mouth open in shock and realization. This woman was….No, it couldn't be – it was absolutely preposterous….But somehow, it didn't feel that crazy. She could _feel_ her words to be true.

"…Blair?" Akko muttered softly.

"Bingo!" said the woman, now identified as her pet Blair, with a proud grin. "But you weren't expecting the cat to be a super fabulous and ultra-sexy cat-witch, were ya? You can tell he wasn't expecting it." She gestured to Mr. Kagari, who had dropped his rifle on the floor in numb shock. "Anyway – Akko-nyan, a very happy anniversary to ya. Got something for ya here – I hope it turned out okay; I haven't had a whole lot of experience in making these things."

She flipped her hat over again, chanted " **Pum-Pumpkin Pumpkin!"** , and pulled out a small, square box from inside. Akko opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a small, sticky chocolate cake that made in the crude shape of a cat's face with **_Happy Anniversery Akko-Nyan_** written on it in green icing.

Akko looked at Blair. She meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to her mouth, and what she said instead was, "What are you?"

Blair chuckled.

"Well, I guess after finding out that your pet of eleven years is a witch-cat, it's pretty understandable that you'd have some questions. To give you the short version, you can just call me your guardian and familiar. There's probably a whole lot more you want explained, but first, how about that saucer of milk? I've been dying for some good moo juice since that crappy motel."

Her eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in and snorted. She twirled her fingers, chanting once again and a fireball with the face of a jack-o-lantern shot out from her hand into the grate and a roaring fire sprang to life there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Akko felt the warmth wash over her as though she'd sunk into a hot bath.

Blair rubbed her hands together and held them against the fire, trying to get warm herself with a relieved sigh, before flipping her hat again and taking all sorts of things out of the inside: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, several chipped glasses, a deep saucer, a jug of milk, a small jar of honey, and a bottle of some amber liquid that she took a wig from before warming up the milk. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while Blair was working, but as she slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, she turned to Mr. and Mrs. Kagari (who came into the room unnoticed) and smiled.

"You don't need to stay over there," she said kindly. "C'mon, the fire is nice and warm."

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari still seemed hesitant whether they could trust this strange woman or not, but a warm fire and a decent meal was very tempting. They only deliberated for a few seconds before they joined them by the fire just as Blair passed the first sausage to Akko. She was so hunger as if she had never tasted anything so wonderful, but she still couldn't take her eyes off the woman. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, she said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really get who you're supposed to be."

Blair took a gulp of milk from her saucer, leaving a very impressive and curly milk mustache on her lip.

"I'm just Blair," she said simply. "Your friend, guardian, and familiar. I've been looking out for you ever since you were a baby, but you probably already know that. Before that, I was basically a freelance magic worker, though I was considering getting a job at my old school, Luna Nova – "

"Wait, you went to Luna Nova!" Akko shouted suddenly, bouncing closer to Blair and nearly making the cat-witch fall off in surprise. "As in _THE_ Luna Nova! The famous magic school in England where Shiny Chariot learned magic!"

"Figures you would know about Luna Nova because of Chariot," said Blair, rolling her eyes but chuckled. "Yeah, I used to be a student there. In fact, I was friends with Chariot."

"Really?" Akko all but screamed hysterically, eyes sparkling with excitement. "You knew Shiny Chariot? Were you best friends? I bet she was the best student in her year – no, in the history of the whole school! This is so awesome! My cat – my magic cat – was friends with Shiny Chariot! You have to tell me EVERYTHING!"

"Slow your roll there, kid," said Blair, flicking Akko's forehead to calm her down. "We're not here to talk about my school days, no matter how amazing they were. We're here to talk about why you haven't been getting your letters."

She craned her head to Mr. and Mrs. Kagari, who suddenly found the ground to be very fascinating, refusing to look the woman in the eye.

"Look, I can understand the reason why you were acting that way," she said to the Kagaris, "and I can appreciate that you're only looking out for her, but you can't keep this from Akko-nyan forever. She can't go her whole life without knowing anything about, well, anything."

Akko thought this was going a bit far. She had been to school, after all, even if her grades weren't always – if ever – the best.

"I know _some_ stuff," she said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."

But Blair simply waved her hand and said, "I'm talking about _our_ world – well, technically, it's not _our_ world anymore since you were born. It's – well, it's very complicated to explain and I don't even have the whole story because I wasn't there. It's just something that only people like us can understand."

"People like us?" Akko repeated confused.

Blair once again shot Mr. and Mrs. Kagari a sharp look, and once again Akko's parents refused to meet her gaze. Akko thought he heard her father whisper something that sounded an awful lot like "Anima". Blair slowly turned back to Akko.

"It's a little hard to wrap your mind around at first, believe me," she said. "I mean, most Demi-Humans know your story better than you do. You're _famous_."

"What? I – I'm not famous – I couldn't be famous…could I?"

"Yeah…I guess you wouldn't really know," Blair ran her fingers through her curly hair, fixing Akko with a pitiable stare. "I mean, you don't even know what you _are_."

Mr. Kagari suddenly found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, Blair! You can't do this! Not after everything – "

"You may be Akko-nyan's parents, but that doesn't mean you know what's best for her!" Blair retorted with a look so fierce that Mr. Kagari nearly fell back in fright. "You never told her! You never showed her what was in the letter granny left for her! I was there! I saw granny leave it, Shuichi! I watched you lock it away in your desk drawer! And you've been keeping it from her all these years!"

"Kept _what_ from me?" said Akko eagerly.

"STOP! BLAIR, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!" yelled Mr. Kagari desperately.

Mrs. Kagari gave a gasp in fear.

"You can't keep this a secret from her any longer," said Blair. "Akko-nyan – you're a witch."

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.

"I'm a _what_?" gasped Akko

"Witch, sorceress, Demi-Human – take your pick," said Blair, leaning back into the couch and crossing her legs almost formally, "and a damn good one, I'd say, once you've been trained up a bit. With someone of your reputation, it's kind of expected of you. And I think it's about time you read your letter."

Blair pulled a familiar yellowish envelope from inside her hat. Akko stretched out her hand at last to take it, addressed in green ink to Ms. Atsuko Kagari, the sofa, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. She pulled out the letter and read:

 **LUNA NOVA MAGICAL ACADEMY**

 **Headmistress: Miranda Holbrooke**  
 _(Order of Morgan, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Magician  
Supreme Enchantress, International Confed. of Demi-Humans)_

 **Dear Ms. Kagari**  
 **We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted**  
 **at Luna Nova Magical Academy. Please find enclosed a**  
 **list of all necessary books and equipment.**

 **Term begins on September 1. We await your response by no  
later than July 31**

 **Yours Sincerely,**  
 _Professor Finnelan,  
Deputy Headmistress_

Questions exploded inside Akko's head like fireworks and she couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes she stammered, "How am I supposed to respond? Do I e-mail it or - ?"

"Aw, sweet pumpkins, I almost forgot!" yelped Blair, clapping a hand to her forehead, and once again reached inside her hat to retrieve a grinning jack-o-lantern the size of her hand with bat wings on the sides, a pen that looked slightly chewed, and a sheet of paper. With her tongue between her teeth she scribbled a note that Akko could read upside down:

 **Hey Granny,**  
 **Gave Akko-nyan her letter.**  
 **Taking her to buy her things tomorrow.**  
 **Weather's horrible. Try not to slip, okay?**  
 **Blair**

Blair rolled up the note, gave it to the jack-o-lantern, which suddenly came to life and swallowed the paper whole, went to the door, and threw the pumpkin out into the storm. Then she came back and sat down as though this was as normal as taking a phone call.

Akko realized her mouth was open and closed it.

"Where was I?" said Blair, but at that moment, Mr. Kagari, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the fire light.

"She's not going," he said.

Blair grunted.

"Sorry, Shuichi, but there's nothing you can do to stop her if she wants to go," she said. "You knew this day would come eventually when you first took her in. It said so in the note."

"You can't just expect us to be okay with this!" shouted Mr. Kagari outrageously. "Akko is our daughter! And I don't care what Holbrooke or whoever says! I'm not going to lose my only child!"

"Wait, you _knew_?" said Akko, standing up with wide eyes. "You _knew_ that I'm a – a _witch_?"

"Since the day you arrived at our doorstep," said Mrs. Kagari suddenly and softly.

"Kaori – " Mr. Kagari started.

"Shuichi, enough," said Mrs. Kagari with a tone of finality. "We both knew that this was going to happen ever since we adopted Akko and we both knew that you were only putting off the inevitable. Akko deserves to know everything, so please just sit down."

Mr. Kagari sputtered, doubtlessly wanting to object, but Mrs. Kagari shot him with a hard stare and he eventually conceded with a defeated sigh, taking a seat next to his wife. Nobody said anything. Akko stared at her mother for the longest time, noticing that she was twiddling her thumbs like she usually did whenever she was nervous. Finally, she spoke up:

"Eleven years ago, you arrived on our doorstep completely out of nowhere in the middle of the night with nothing but a blanket, your necklace, and Blair. Make no mistake that it was truly the happiest day of our lives when you came into it. We have wanted a baby for so long and there you were – our miracle. But there was something else as well. We were also afraid. Inside your blanket was a letter from that woman – Holbrooke, I believe it was – that explained why you suddenly came to us."

She stopped to draw a deep breath and the continued her story. It seemed she had been waiting and fearing to say all this for years.

"Inside the letter she told us that you were a Demi-Human – a very special Demi-Human with a very special purpose. She said that when you were old enough that you would be invited to Luna Nova and were excited, of course, to have a witch in the family. But also said some…terrible things. About people who would want to take you away…people who would want to hurt you. We were scared. What if these people came after us – after you? We tried to hide it for years, giving you a normal life and trying to keep you from knowing about magic. But it seemed pointless in the end because of the parade."

Akko had gone very white. As soon as she found her voice she said, "So that thing that attacked the parade? I caused it?"

"Unintentionally, but yeah," admitted Blair. "It wasn't the first time you ever subconsciously manifested magic, but it was the first time you ever conjured something of that magnitude. Luna Nova was bound to find out eventually. Your name has been written down for them ever since you were born."

"But why? What makes me so special?" Akko asked urgently.

The excitement quickly faded from Blair's face. She looked suddenly anxious.

"Well…that's kind of a difficult story to tell," she said, in a low, worried voice. "I had a feeling that someone would have to tell you eventually, but I was kinda hoping that it would be granny or somebody else that did the job. I'm not exactly comfortable with explaining with happened back in those days – but someone's gotta – you can't running off to Luna Nova not knowing who – or what – you are."

She leaned forward on her knees with her hands clasped and took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll try to tell you as much as I can tell ya – mind, I can't tell you everything because I don't entirely understand everything….

She stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with a dangerous witch. A witch so menacing and powerful that even to this day people still fear to say her name. She was bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse."

"Who?"

"Her name is - was - **_Aradia_** ," Blair answered in a low, somber tone. "This – this witch, years and years ago, started looking for followers. Got them, too – some were afraid, some just wanted a bit of her power, cause she was getting herself power, all right. They called her the Eclipse Queen. It was very dark days, Akko-nyan. Didn't know who to trust, didn't dare get friendly with strangers…terrible things happened. She was taking over. Of course, some stood up to her – and killed them. Horribly. One of the only safe places left was Luna Nova. They say that the only people Aradia was afraid of was Miranda Holbrooke and Chariot Du Nord. Aradia didn't dare try taking the school while Holbrooke was headmistress, not just then, anyway. And Chariot - Chariot was the only person who ever saw Aradia and lived to tell the tale. Back then, one of the biggest reasons everyone was afraid of her was because no one _knew_ who Aradia _was._ It made everyone paranoid.

"But then rumors started going around about a prophecy, about a child born from the Seven Stars that would pierce the darkness and usher in a new Golden Age of Magic – the Star-Born Child. Once everyone started hearing this rumor, it started to inspire hope. People were rising up, they were fighting back against her forces…and she was losing. More people began to follow Chariot and the Aradia was running out of options.

"But then something changed. One day, she turned up in the Grand Triskellion – that was the center of all magic that flowed through the Ley Lines, back when magic was still contained in the earth. Maybe she was planning to steal all of the world's magic – I don't know. She managed to get through well enough, but she wasn't the only one there. Shiny Chariot had followed her.

"And then – nothing,"

"Nothing?" repeated Akko confused.

"Well, obviously something happened, but I wasn't there when it did - I was still in America at the time," she said. "Chariot and Aradia had this huge fight and then – and this is the real mystery of the thing – the whole world literally changed that day. The Grand Triskellion was destroyed in a huge blast and all the magic in the Ley Lines was released into the atmosphere, allowing magic to be used freely all over the planet, turning it into what it is now. Aradia just suddenly disappeared and in the middle of the wreckage…Chariot found you. A little baby where the Grand Triskellion once was. That's how you were born, Akko-nyan. Ever wondered how you got those scars on your back? Those are no ordinary cuts. That's what you get when you are touched by powerful magic. Aradia was gone and a new Golden Age of Magic had just started, exactly like the prophecy foretold. That's why you're famous, Akko-Nyan. Granted, people don't even know your name, but they still know your story. You are her – you are the Star-Born Child."

Something very painful was going on in Akko's mind. As Blair's story came to a close, she saw again the seven blinding flashes of green light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before – and she could remember something else, for the first time in her life: a strong and powerful voice crying out: " ** _Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor_** _!_ "

Blair was watching her sadly.

"Chariot took you away, met up with me and granny Holbrooke to discuss what to do with ya. We brought you to the Kagaris because we thought you would be raised right…."

"Are you saying we haven't?" said Mr. Kagari. Akko jumped; she had almost forgotten that her parents were there. Mr. Kagari certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Blair and his fists were clenched.

"Not at all," said Blair calmly. "Remember, I lived with you for eleven years and I've seen how well you've raised your daughter. Yeah, you screwed up sometimes, like the past few days for instance, but Akko-nyan turned out all right."

"We only acted irrationally because we love Akko," Mrs. Kagari jumped in, cutting off her husband before he could say a word. "Try and imagine, just for a moment, that you have children and you know that they are people out there in the real world who want to worship her and to destroy her. The reason we kept all this from Akko is because we were worried how this knowledge would affect her life. She could have either turned out to be a snobbish person that disrespected others, or she could have spent her whole life constantly looking over her shoulder. We only did what we thought was best.

"But I'm not going to deny that we were also wrong for trying to suppress Akko's true nature. She was born a witch and she was always going to be a witch – and nothing in the world was going to change that. Looking back, we could have encouraged her to learn about magic little by little instead of pretending that half of her life didn't exist."

"Nah, I totally get it," Blair brushed the comment aside. "All that matters is that Akko-nyan knows now. Better to hear it from us than someone else."

Akko, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.

"So whatever happened to Aradia? Did she die?"

"That's the trillion yen question, isn't it? Nobody knows what happened. The only person around when it happened was Chariot and she never said a word to anyone before she disappeared. She just…vanished. The same night you were born. That's part of what makes you famous. It's a real mystery, see… she was getting more and more powerful – why'd she go.

"Some say Chariot killed her. I knew Chariot well enough – she didn't kill people if she could help it, not even the Aradia. And personally, I doubt she was even human enough to die. Some say she's still out there, biding her time, but I can't say I believe that either. People who were on her side came back to ours. Some of them came out of trances. Don't think they could've done it if she was coming back.

"Most of us think she's still out there somewhere but lost her powers. Too weak to carry on. Because something about you and Chariot finished her, Akko-Nyan. Something happened that night that she hadn't counted on and it stopped her in her tracks."

"So…the Aradia is gone," Akko murmured slowly, her brain slowly processing all this new information, "and I'm some kind of…what? Miracle baby made from magic? Like Jesus or Anakin Skywalker?"

"Huh, I never really made the comparison," said Blair, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it."

"But what happened to Shiny chariot?" asked Akko quickly. "If she knows what really happened, then why didn't she say anything? Why hasn't anyone seen her in eleven years? Shiny Chariot is one of the greatest witches of all time; she couldn't have just disappeared without telling someone. How am I supposed to know what I'm supposed to do if I don't know anything about myself?"

"Chariot always did things in ways that nobody understood," said Blair. "She always thought ten steps ahead, though I can't really say what her whole plan was. All I know is that she and granny made plans for you to attend Luna Nova when you turned eleven and hopefully everything would fall into place."

"Except she's not going to Luna Nova," said Mr. Kagari suddenly; looks like he wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Shuichi…" Mrs. Kagari spoke softly.

"She's going to Moegi where she'll be safe and get a good education," he continued uninterrupted. "She'll have a normal school life, get a decent education, and live a normal life without insane cultists and evil overlords trying to kill her."

"You can't honestly think sending her to a normal school is going to miraculously make things better," said Blair dryly. "No matter what school she goes to, no matter how far she travels, there will always be people out there who would want to hurt Akko-nyan. At least in Luna Nuva she'll learn to protect herself. It's the most prestigious magic school in all of Europe. Seven year there and she won't even recognize herself. She'll be with students her own age and she'll be under the instruction of the greatest collection of witches in the continent –

"I don't care what kind of teachers you have!" yelled . "Akko is not going – "

"SHUT UP!"

Blair and Mr. Kagari turned their head and stared with eyes wide in surprise as Mrs. Kagari threw her hands over her mouth to conceal her gasp. Akko stood up to them, hands clenched at her sides, breathing hard and heavy from her sudden outburst. She took a moment to compose herself before turning on her father, staring him down with a hard look that he knew she got from her mother.

"Dad, I have to go to Luna Nova," said Akko in a firm voice. Mr. Kagari started to speak, but Akko cut him off. "Don't say you're just trying to protect me, because _this"_ – she gestured to the hut ceiling – "is not protecting me! You've lied to me my whole life, trying to make me think I'm normal! But I'm not normal! I always thought it was weird that I had more Demi-Human friends than normal friends, but now it all makes sense! And going to Luna Nova is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You know it's always been my dream to be an amazing witch just like Shiny Chariot!"

"I think all the Shiny Chariot cards, posters, and memorabilia are pretty good indicators," said Blair teasing.

"Not helping!" snapped Akko; Blair cringed. "Luna Nova is the greatest school in the world – it's the place where Shiny Chariot learned to be so awesome! And even if you make me go to Moegi, that's still not gonna stop me from using magic; it's part of who I am. If I don't go to school to learn how to control my power, I might end up doing something on accident like making the science lab explode or flood the gymnasium with tapioca pudding."

"Why tapioca?" asked Blair curiously.

"'Cause no one likes tapioca pudding," said Akko like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"She's got a point, Shuichi," said Mrs. Kagari. "There's always gonna be a risk of Akko getting hurt. At least at school, she'll be at least a little safer."

Mr. Kagari mouth became very thin, which was something he often did when he was making a very difficult choice (usually about pizza toppings). He took a moment to consider Akko, then exchanged looks with Mrs. Kagari, and then, with a defeated exhale, he rounded to Blair.

"You promise she'll be safe?" he asked her.

"I'll be there to personally watch over her," Blair promised.

"…Okay…she can go," Mr. Kagari conceded.

Akko felt like a balloon had just swelled up in her chest and she was lighter than air. She bounced over to her father and threw her arms around him, screaming ecstatically. She's going to Luna Nova!

"Whelp, now that that's over," said Blair, stretched her arms over her head with a groan. "We oughta get some sleep. Gonna be a big day tomorrow. Gotta go get Akko-nyan's school supplies. It's gonna be a looong commute to London."

"Wait, London?" Mrs. Kagari sputtered shockingly. "We have to go to the other side of the world to get Akko's things?"

"Luna Nova is in England, so where else would you find school supplies?" said Blair, stretching her back. "If she was applying for Honnoji, then we could just get everything in Shibuya, but since it's in England, we've got no other choice."

Without warning, Blair exploded into a purple cloud and a purple-furred cat in a witch's hat hopped onto the moth-eaten sofa, pacing around until she curled up at the edge. She let out a yawn that sounded like a meow, licked her lips, and buried her head under her paws. The Kagaris knew that there would be a lot to talk about, but it was very late, they were all exhausted, and they just wanted to go to sleep. Mr. and Mrs. Kagari slipped back into the other room while Akko nestled herself between Blair and the couch. She closed her eyes, smiling to herelf, dreaming of what new adventures awaited her.

* * *

 **A little backstory, a little world building, a couple of accepting parents. Nothing really to say about this chapter.**

 **Next Chapter: London**


	5. London

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Five: London**

Akko woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight.

"It was a dream," she told herself firmly. "I dreamed that Blair was a magic witch-cat and she told me I was going to Luna Nova Academy. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my room."

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

 _And there's mom knock on the door,_ Akko thought, her heart sinking. But she still didn't open her eyes. It had been such a good dream.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"All right," Akko mumbled, "I'm getting up.

She sat up and the moldy old blanket fell off her. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Blair the cat was curled up asleep at her knees, and there was large, majestic falcon rapping its claws on the window, a newspaper tucked in an open cylinder strapped to its back.

Akko scrambled to her feet, so happy she felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside of her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open. The falcon swooped in and landed on the back of the sofa, tilting its head as it focused its beady eyes on Blair. When the magic cat didn't wake up, the falcon started pecking its pointed beak off the top of Blair's head.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stupid messenger hawk! This is why nobody reads the newspaper anymore!" cried Blair, hopping away and leering at the bird while rubbing her head.

The messenger hawk fluttered onto the cushion and turned its back to Blair, presenting her with the newspaper. Blair swiped the paper from its cylinder, set it aside for a moment, flipped her hat over, and started digging around the contents.

"Um, you take most major credit cards, right?" asked Blair.

The falcon flipped around and stretched out its leg so that it could present a small machine strapped to the limp. Blair swiped the credit card through the slot, the machine _beeped_ and flashed a green light. Once the transaction was complete, the falcon flew off through the open window.

Blair exploded in cloud of purple smoke with a **_pop_** and stretched her human arms over her head as Mr. and Mrs. Kagari came out of the other room fully dressed and ready for the day ahead. Akko felt the giddiness quivering through every cell in her body. This was really happening!

"Is everyone about ready?" asked Blair with a short grunt and a quiet yawn. "We oughta leave early. Getting to London from Japan is gonna be a long trip, even with magic. Wanna beat out the evening rush to buy all of Akko-nyan's school supplies.

Akko watched as Blair tossed the credit card back into the depths of her hat and topped her head. She then looked at her parents, who were talking animatedly as Mrs. Kagari straightened Mr. Kagari's tie, wanting to look their best in London, when something occurred to her that made her feel as though the happy balloon inside her had been punctured.

"Um – Blair?"

"Mm?" said Blair, who was cracking her back from having to sleep on the uncomfortable couch.

"How expensive is all my stuff gonna be?" Akko asked, shooting worried looks to both her parents. "Mom and Dad already spent a lot getting all my supplies for going to Moegi…and we're not exactly rolling in Yen."

"Oh, I thought there was something I forgot last night," said Blair.

She flipped her hat again, reached inside, and whipped out an envelope. Akko accepted the envelope, blinking curiously before opening it. There were two things inside: one of them was a credit card with Akko's named pressed into the plastic and a background bearing Luna Nova's emblem. Next was a sheet of folded paper that declared that there had been a major transfer of money (Akko's eyes nearly bugged out when she saw the amount) to Akko's personal account. But what stunned her the most was where the funds had been transferred from – or more specifically, who.

"S-S-Shiny Chariot," Akko sputtered. "Shiny Chariot left me…this?"

"Akko, honey, what are you – Hello!" yelled Mr. Kagari, looking over Akko's shoulder in pleasant surprise when he saw the paper. "I didn't know that many zeros existed."

"Oh my, with this much, we could finally get that vacation home we always wanted," said Mrs. Kagari from Akko's other shoulder.

"Now, hold on there," Blair cut in quickly. "Before you get all money happy, you should know that Chariot set down a couple rules about that money. Firstly, Akko-nyan only is only allowed a certain amount of spending every year as long as she's at school. That way she doesn't get greedy and blow everything on a lot of unnecessary junk. Secondly, Akko-nyan will only be allowed to access the whole account when she graduates from Luna Nova Academy. If she ever decides to quit or gets kicked out, she'll get cut off."

"That's not filling me with confidence," said Akko.

"Those were the rules Chariot set down before she vanished," said Blair firmly. "She put in all her savings to make sure that you were provided for, Akko-nyan, so you should be grateful. Now where are those sausages? They're not bad when they're cold – and I wouldn't say no to some of that cake, either."

"So the plan is get to London and buy all of Akko's things there?" asked Mrs. Kagari for confirmation.

"Well, first thing we need to do is stop by the registration office."

"Registration Office?" asked Akko curiously.

"You're a newly confirmed Demi-Human, Akko-nyan, which means we have to get you properly registered as one. It's all part of the Demi-Human Registration Act."

"I heard about that," said Mr. Kagari, suddenly looking grim. "It was a law that was passed shortly after the Demi-Humans started popping up all over the world, which we now know is because of Akko. They created a global law that says any Demi-Humans have to give up any information about themselves regarding their abilities and are forced to accept being monitored by local authorities. And they have to be drafted in facilities to meet a certain criteria before they're allowed to use their abilities, whether it's at Luna Nova or anywhere else. It's basically a way for the government to control Demi-humans."

"It's definitely not ideal, but it the best we've got," said Blair, looking equally grey. "Normal people are afraid of Demi-Humans whether they show it or not. Before, nobody had to worry about Demi-Humans too much because they were restricted to the Ley Lines and couldn't bother anyone. But now that magic is everywhere, the governments were in a panic to control everything. I say we got lucky on our end. If the Earl of Hanbridge had his way, all Demi-Humans would've been banished to some place far away from human civilization. Thank the Seven Stars for Bernadette Cavendish.

"Well, that's enough moping around for one morning. Come on, we're going shopping!"

The Kagaris followed Blair out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea was gleaming in the sunlight. The boat Mr. Kagari had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.

"So how're we gonna get to London from here?" Mrs. Kagari asked as if expecting to see a plane pop out of nowhere. "We're not gonna row all the way there, are we?"

"Row all the way to London?" Blair snorted. "That's just crazy talk….We're gonna fly there."

"Oh sure, let me go grab my wings and we'll be set," said Mr. Kagari sarcastically.

"Relax, Shuichi, I've got it covered," said Blair, tipping her hat over and twirling a finger around the rim. " **Pum-Pumpkin Pumpkin!"**

Something big and orange inflated out of the opening of the hat, a twisted green stem on top and bat wings spreading on the sides. Akko and her parents tilted their heads back in awe and stared up into the eye holes of a jack-o-lantern that could have been the size of the Kagari's living room. Before any of them knew what happened next, the jack-o-lantern suddenly lurched forward and swallowed the Kagari family whole.

Akko whined as she was pressed against the surprisingly smooth surface of the jack-o-lantern's insides by the weight of her parents. They thankfully moved when Blair stepped inside the pumpkin's mouth ever so casually and rapped the lantern's wall with her knuckles. Akko felt the pumpkin shudder and saw the scenery shifting at an alarmingly fast pace through the jack-o-lantern's eye holes. Akko blinked once and they were flying over Shinjuku, he blinked again and they were shooting through Beijing, and when she blinked a third time, they were speeding over the plains in Mongolia.

"So cool…," said Akko awestruck, turning to Blair. "They'll teach me how to do this at Luna Nova."

"Not this type of magic, particularly," said Blair, unfolding her newspaper as she spoke. "You can learn the basic phases of magic like levitation and metamorphosis magic, but when you're looking to learn some of the advance phases of magic, the types of magic you can use becomes limited. You see, everyone is born with a particular affinity towards some category of magic. For me, it's pumpkin magic – and before you ask, Chariot's specialty lied in illusion magic. You won't know which category you fall under until you reach your third or fourth year."

Akko sat and thought about this while Blair read her newspaper. Akko had learned from her father that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult.0 She'd never had so many questions in her life.

"The Magic Council is making a mess of things again," Blair muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Magic Council?" Mrs. Kagari asked before Akko had the chance.

"Of course," said Blair. "They wanted granny for chairman, of course, but she'd never leave Luna Nova, so that old fart Crawford Seam got the job. Biggest dope of a man if I've ever seen one. He's always calling granny for advice because he's too much of an idiot to do it himself."

"But what does a Magic Council _do_?"

"Just about what you'd expect them to do. They're the main ruling body of the magical community and it's their job to make sure all the Demi-Humans stay in check. Step one toe out of line and you could find yourself standing in court with them."

At this moment the flying pumpkin gently touched down onto a small harbor. Blair stepped out first followed by the Kagari family, waved her hand to shrink the pumpkin with a small **_pop_** and caught it inside her hat before topping her head.

"This is about as far as I can go without draining my magical reserves too much," she told them. "We'll have to hoof it the rest of the way."

Passersby stared at Blair a lot as they walked through the little town to the station. Akko couldn't blame them. Not only did she dress like a modern witch without reservation, but she was also incredibly beautiful and just oozed with sexiness. Most men and some women would backtrack just to get a second look at her and some of them even ran into stationary objects like telephone poles and parked cars. Akko felt woefully inadequate standing next to someone she thought was her pet for eleven years.

In time they reach the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Blair tried to get through the barrier without buying a ticket and was almost arrested for it if her father hadn't smoothed things out with the security team. Blair pouted – it wasn't her fault that she hadn't had to pay for public transportation in over a decade, she said. Soon they were on the train headed for London, Blair and Akko sitting on one side while the Kagaris sat on the other.

"Still got your letter, Akko-nyan?" Blair asked her suddenly.

Akko took the envelope out of her pocket.

"Good," said Blair. "There's a list in there of everything you need."

Akko unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

 **LUNA NOVA MAGICAL ACADEMY**

 **UNIFORM**

 **First-year students will require:**  
1\. Three sets of plain work tunics (blue)  
2\. One plain pointed hat (blue) for day wear  
3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon scale or similar)  
4\. One winter coat (blue, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

 **COURSE BOOKS**

 **All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
** _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ **by Minerva Cavendish**  
 _A History of Magic_ **by Edward Chronos**  
 _Magical Theory_ **by Pisces Goldfish**  
 _A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy_ **by Edward Elric**  
 _One Thousand and One Herbs and Fungi_ **by Pamela Isley**  
 _Magical Drafts and Potions_ **by Susan Manbavaran**  
 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them_ **by Solomon Saturday**  
 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ **by Yen Sid**

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT**

 **1 wand**  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set of glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set of brass scales

 **Students may also bring their familiars**

 **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"Can we buy all this in London?" Akko wondered aloud.

"Sure," said Blair casually. "But first things first, we need to stop by the registration office before anything else."

* * *

Akko had never been to London before. Although Blair seemed to know where she was going, she was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. She almost got arrested a second time that day for trying to jump the ticket barrier again on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too hard and the trains too slow.

"I had forgotten how different things were before I played pet full time," she said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to Marsham Street

London was so much different from growing up near Shibuya. The streets were far less crowded, the roads seemed cleaner, and even the air smelled different (but not in the good way, Akko thought as he face scrunched in distaste when a car backfired). Even the Demi-Humans were different. There was a hulking werewolf at the flower shop buying a bouquet for his dainty vampire sweetheart. Mermaids were splashing in the River Thames and sunbathing on the rocks. And there was a talking gorilla having a chat with a woman in a godawful orange jumpsuit that seemed to be opening holes in time-space.

There was also a bunch of kids in an alley beating the crap out of a nerdy boy with a lightning bolt scar on his head, but Akko didn't know why she needed to mention it.

"This is it," said Blair, coming to a halt, "the Department of Demi-Humans. We should be able to get things sorted here."

They had reached an official-looking office building that stood directly next to the Home Office. While there were normal people running in and out of the neighboring building, only Demi-Humans seemed to be going inside the building in front of them. Part of Akko wondered why the two were separate in the first place, but she didn't have much time to wonder before Blair steered the Kagaris inside.

There was a din of voices and phones ringing as one would expect in an official government building with people running in and out of offices carrying files under their arms or stacks of sheets that looked dangerously close to tilting over. About a dozen or so Demi-Humans were sitting behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, pushing papers to their neighbors, and were focusing all their attention to their computers more than the people coming up to the counters. There were too many doors to count leading off the reception area, and yet more Demi-Humans were showing people in and out of these. Blair was leading the Kagaris across the waiting area when she spotted someone.

"Ursula, is that you?" shouted Blair, flailing her arms in the air.

A woman just coming out of one of the doors jumped in temporary fright, nearly dropping the long package she was carrying, and turned towards Blair and the Kagari. She was a plain-looking woman with midnight-blue hair tied over her left shoulder and her eyes almost concealed behind a pair of black-framed oval glasses. She wore a dark purple hooded dress reaching to her knees with long wide sleeves, a red flame-like design in the bottom, and a single brown strap on the chest area.

With a hand on her chest to slow her beating heart, Ursula approached the party with a soft smile.

"Hello, Blair, it is good to see you again," she said politely.

"Nice ta see you too, Ursula," said Blair. "Akko, this is Professor Ursula, one of the teachers at Luna Nova Academy. Ursula, this is Akko-nyan. I'm helping her get registered."

"A pleasure to meet you, Akko," said Ursula, shaking Akko's hand. "I look forward to teaching you at Luna Nova."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Ursula?" asked Mr. Kagari.

"I teach Magic Astrology," said Ursula. "It's the practice of divination through the observation and reading astrological bodies and planetary movements. For the first few years, it's just about studying the stars and we don't get into actual predictions until the third year at most. Unfortunately, it's not an exact science and accurately predicting the future is nearly impossible. It's generally a horoscope class."

"That sounds cool!" said Akko in awe when she noticed the package. "Hey, what's that?"

"Oh, this?" Ursula raised the package questionably. "It's just a little something Professor Holbrooke wanted me to pick up. You know, the thing from vault one-nine-one?"

"Wait, you mean she asked you to pick up _that_?" Blair gasped, staring at the package longingly. "Oh wow, that thing hasn't seen the light of day for over a decade. Why'd granny decide to bring it out now?"

"I can't begin to understand what she's thinking," said Ursula, frowning slightly. "It's a little dangerous to be bring something as important as this to….You know what? Never mind. It's not our place to question what the headmistress has planned. All we can do is trust her judgment." She was looking at Akko when she said that, most likely afraid that she was saying too much in front of a total stranger. "Well, I should be getting back to Luna Nova. Professor Holbrooke will want this sooner than later."

Professor Ursula bowed politely to Akko and the Kagaris before speed walking out the doors.

"What's it vault one-nine-one that's been sitting there for over a decade?" Akko asked immediately.

""Nice try, kitten," said Blair teasingly, flicking Akko's nose playfully, "but you're not gonna get anything outta me. That's strictly Luna Nova business. Granny trusted only a few people with it and I'm not gonna betray her trust, not even for you. Now come on, we still have a lot to do today."

Akko decided she would interrogate her with catnip later. Blair and the Kagaris made for the counter where they were met with a stumpy, warty man that looked closer to a goblin.

"Mornin'," said Blair to the goblin man. "We're here to get Atsuko Kagari registered."

"Please fill out this form, ma'am."

The goblin never looked up from his computer as he pushed a clipboard and a sheet of paper across the counter. Blair took the form and lead the Kagaris to the waiting area before handing off the clipboard to Akko.

Akko groaned; she hated doing paperwork – she didn't even do her own homework, mostly cheating off of Kyoko or Yuki. But she needed to get it done if she wanted to be recognized as a fully licensed witch; that though was enough for her to put pen to paper. Filling out her name, birthday, citizenship, home address, and family registry was enough, and when asked which type of Demi-Human she was, Akko was pleased to declare herself as a witch. There was also a section on sentient familiars, which Blair explained were meant for those who had animal partners that had a higher degree of understanding than normal creatures. Blair helped her with this section. And when it reached the area where it asked which category of magic she used, Blair told her to leave it undeclared until after she graduated from Luna Nova.

It took almost ten minutes before Akko finally finished filling out the form. At last, she and Blair walked back up to the counter and returned with the clipboard.

"We're finished!" Akko announced happily.

"One moment," said the goblin man, sliding the clipboard in front of him and his eyes roamed the sheet. "All right, everything appears to be in order. All that's left is the registration fee. We take cash and credit – no checks."

Less than five minutes later, Akko was skipping down the front steps of the Department of Demi-Humans office flashing the laminated mint-green Demi-Human citizenship card brandishing her name.

"I can't believe this is real," Akko squeaked in delight, smushing the card against her cheek. "Now no one can say I'm not a real witch."

"Now that we got Akko-nyan all registered and ready, we move on to shopping!" shouted Blair, pumping her fist in the air.

"So where're we headed to next," asked Mr. Kagari curiously. "Are we going to a dingy little bar that actually a secret entrance to a street of magic shops?"

"…I can't believe you actually read that Harry Potter crap," said Blair with a disgusted grimace while Akko and Mrs. Kagari shook their head shamefully.

* * *

Blair and the Kagaris took the underground railway without causing a third incident at the ticket barrier that took them to all the way to White City, London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (Akko didn't even understand half the things that Blair was saying, but nodded and pretended she did). Once out of the Underground, Blair hailed down a taxi and told the driver to take them somewhere called Westfield London. A short drive later, Blair directed them inside a massive shopping complex that looked like it could be compared to any place in Shibuya. Thousands of people – human and Demi-Humans – were walking in every direction carrying assortments of items and chattering so loudly that their voices echoed off the walls.

"Welcome to Westfield Lindon!" shouted Blair jubilantly. "The best place in all of England to get all of your school supply needs!"

It was true now that Akko had a chance to look around through the crowds. In between various music stores and pop culture shops were stores dedicated to a particular area of magic. The nearest shop had a stack of cauldrons outside shining brilliantly under the rays of the sun spilling through the glass ceiling. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needing one of those," said Blair, "but we should probably grab your uniform before anything else. Those unusually take the longest to make. Now if I remember…the Aikatsu Dress-Makers for All Occasions should be…up on the second floor, I think. Yeah, definitely second floor." She nodded toward the flashy shop on the floor above next to the escalators. "Hey, listen, you mind if I step off for a bit? There's some…things I need to check out."

"You're not going to play with the cat toys at the pet shop again, are you?" asked Mr. Kagari with a raised brow.

"…Noooo," said Blair, pointedly look away from him.

Before any of them could get a word in, Blair took off and disappeared into the crowd. This left Akko and the Kagaris to go up into the Aikatsu Dress-Maker store by themselves; Akko felt nervous.

The owner of the store was a squat, smiling woman dress in pink.

"Luna Nova, dear?" she said, when Akko started to speak. "Got a lot here – another young woman is being fitted up just now, in fact."

The back of the shop, there was a girl with flawless pale skin and blonde hair that was such a bright shade that it would almost be mistaken for white. She was standing on a footstool while a second woman pinned up the sleeve of her new tunic. The store owner stood Akko on a stool next to her, slipped a long tunic over her head, and began to pin it to the right length. The blonde girl turned her head slightly and met Akko with her thin blue eyes. Akko face felt hot for some reason even though the store had decent air conditioning.

"Hello," said the girl, "Luna Nova, too?"

"Y-Yes," Akko stuttered. Why? Why did she do that?

"It is your first year?" she asked. Akko nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak. "Then I suppose that means we'll be classmates. My friends are down the way picking up my books that I pre-ordered and my mother is picking up my wand on the first floor. Hannah and Barbara are constantly suggesting that we go look at brooms, but as I keep telling them, that's against the rules. First Years aren't allowed to have their own."

So she was one of those people who played by the rules, Akko thought.

"Have you ever flown on a broom?" the pretty girl asked her.

"No," said Akko.

"Then I don't suppose you've ever been in a Chariot Race before?"

"You mean those old races in the coliseums where they had carts and horses?" asked Akko curiously.

"…You're not from a magical family, are you?" said the girl suspiciously.

"Honestly, I didn't know I was a witch until yesterday," Akko admitted. "My cat turned out to be a cat-witch and she explained everything to me….It's kinda hard to wrap my mind around everything, but that's what makes it so exciting. I've loved magic ever since I was little and now I'm going to a school to learn it!"

"Well, you certainly have enthusiasm," the pretty girl smiled softy; Akko's mouth suddenly felt dry. "So how much do you know about Luna Nova? I don't suppose you know which of the five houses you'll be applying for?"

"Oh, I know all about the houses – I read the Wikipedia!" Akko babbled with excitement as she counted each house with her fingers. "There's the Corona House known for their strength, the Lunar House known for their intelligence, the Twilight House known for their patience, and the Eclipse House known for their ambition. But the house I really want to join is the Polaris House."

"The house of independence," hummed the girl. "A very interesting choice. It's a house known for its reputation of freethinkers. Tell me, why choose that one?"

"Because that's the house that Shiny Chariot was in!" Akko explained joyfully, not noticing that the girl's smile suddenly turned downward. "You probably heard of Shiny Chariot – I mean, of course you have. She was the greatest witch Luna Nova ever had! She was so amazing! I wish I had the chance to see her in person before she disappeared. My dream is to be a great witch just like Shiny Chariot."

"You shouldn't waste your time idolizing that fraud."

Akko stiffened as she slowly turned her head towards the girl. Her eyes were narrowed with obvious disapproval. What just happened, Akko wondered. They were having a pleasant conversation until now.

"Shiny Chariot was a disgrace to the name of witches everywhere," she continued. "There's no deny that she had great power, but she wasted her magical talent as special effects for stage performances. She constantly trampled over everything it meant to be a witch. No one is sorry that she's gone."

"You take that back!" Akko snapped. She went from liking this girl to hating her in no time. "Shiny Chariot was amazing! The best witch ever!"

"I will pardon you for your ignorance because you grew up away from our kind," said the girl, turning her nose up to Akko. "But if you wish to learn how to become a real witch, you should throw any notion of admiration you have towards that fraud. Your life will be so much better without that woman clouding your senses."

"Nuh-uh, not happening!" growled Akko. She was seething mad right now. "I'm going to graduate from Luna Nova at the top of my class and become an amazing witch just like Shiny Chariot."

"The top of your class," the girl scoffed amusingly. "You, a new witch whose lived her whole life without casting so much as a simple spell, think you can achieve such prominence before me. Perhaps the Polaris House is best suited for you. I hear the students there live in their own fantasy world."

But before Akko could work out a response, the store owner said, "That's you done, my dear," and Akko, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the girl, hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Luna Nova, I suppose," said the pretty girl.

Akko was rather quiet when her parents paid for Akko's new tunics and they dragged Blair at the pet store where she had torn apart no less than six scratching posts. Blair was the only one that noticed Akko looked a little downcast while Mr. and Mrs. Kagari were checking the guide for the next store.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing," Akko lied. They stopped at the stationary store to buy paper and writing utensils. Akko cheered up a bit when she found a pen that changed colors as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said "Blair, was Shiny Chariot a fraud?"

"What the – " Blair sputtered surprisingly. "Akko-nyan, what are you – I can't believe you would ask that of all things. I thought you loved Shiny Chariot."

"I do, it's just that, well," aid Akko. She told Blair about the pale girl in the Dress-Make Shop.

" – and she said that Shiny Chariot was a disgrace to witches and that no one was sorry she's gone – "

"Now don't you listen to her. Chariot was – no pun intended – a shining example of witches should be more like. Most of the experienced witches are so stuck in their old ways that it's one of the main reasons why they were in decline before the Ley Lines blew up. Witches were dying out because they refused to change their ways. And when Chariot called them out on it, they labeled her as a fraud. Trust me, Akko-nyan, there are plenty of people who miss her. I know granny does – she used to go to every one of Chariot's performances."

"Then what about that girl?" Why was she being so rude?"

"She probably comes from one of the older witch families. The ones that are steeped in tradition. Her parents probably influenced her into seeing things their way. Trust me, she wouldn't be saying that if she had seen Chariot herself. Don't lose faith, Akko-nyan. Just stay true to yourself."

"Okay," said Akko managing a small smile. "Hey, you know what Chariot Races are? She mentioned those, too."

"Oh god, I love Chariot Races. It's the best sport in the world. A magical sport. It's basically likes races, only on brooms, and there are plenty of obstacles and hazards and riders trying to knock each other off. It's kinda hard to explain. You have to see it for yourself to understand. Chariot was on the house team – she was an anchor."

"Really?" asked Akko, starry-eyed. "Now I _have_ to play that game!"

"Maybe I'll teach you someday," said Blair. "Let's get you back to your mom and dad before they chew me out again."

They bought Akko's school books in a shop called Spellbinder's where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Akko, who never liked to read anything, would have been wild to get her hands on some of these. Blair almost had to drag Akko away from _Curse and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More)_ by Fafnir the Dragon Butler.

"I'm trying to find out how to curse Hikari when she pulls one of her pranks again."

"I'm not saying that's not a good idea, but you're can't go using magic on other people except in very special circumstances," said Blair. "And besides, you couldn't work any of those curses anyway. You'll need a lot more training before you get to that level."

Mrs. Kagari wouldn't let Akko buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on your list"), but Mr. Kagari got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the magical pharmacy, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Mr. and Mrs. Kagari asked the man behind the counter for a supply off some basic potion ingredients for Akko, Akko herself was watching a gloomy-looking girl hanging around in the corner of the shop, sniffing toxic-looking mushrooms with a look of ecstasy when she breathed in the spores.

"Stop snorting the merchandise, Manbavaran!" yelled the man at the counter.

"Ugh, get off my back, old man," grumbled the gloomy girl.

Outside the pharmacy, Mr. Kagari checked Akko's list again.

"Looks like all we really need is your wand," he said. "I think I saw something on the directory about a shop being on the first floor. What was it called again…?"

"Spellweaver's, dear," answer Mrs. Kagari.

A magic wand…this was what Akko had really been looking forward to.

Compared to the other magic shops, this one was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the wood read Spellweaver's: Makers of Fines Magical Instruments for 50 Years. A giant sword shaped like a key was hanging in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single spindly chair that Mrs. Kagari sat on to wait, which produced a cloud of dust that nearly made her choke. Akko felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands of boxes both big and small piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Akko jumped with a yelp right into Blair's arms, who then jumped into Mr. Kagari's arms, who then jumped into the air, not realizing there was no one to catch them, and flattened on the floor.

A lovely young woman was standing before them, her short hair and wide eyes a bright shade of blue that seemed to illuminate the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Akko awkwardly.

"Ah, so it's you," said the woman as she helped Akko to her feet. "Yes, yes. I was wondering if I would ever have the chance to meet you, little Star-Born Child."

"Wait…you know who I am?" asked Akko surprisingly.

"Yes, my former master, the previous owner of this shop, Eraqus, used to talk about you a lot," said the woman, moving closer to Akko seemingly to inspect her. "He always talked about how he wished he could be the one to give you your instrument. Sadly, he passed a little over three years ago, so now I tend to the shop."

She paced around Akko until she was behind her and then traced the scars on Akko's back through the fabric of her shirt, sending uncomfortable shivers down Akko's spine.

"Hmm…yes, I can sense it on you…," she said softly. "You have been touched by powerful magic, unlike any the world has ever seen. Raw, unrefined, pure magic - no mortal instrument could possibly cause such damage to this extent. I don't know what truly happened at the Grand Triskellion, Star-Born Child, but these scars are not the result of any wand or staff... Maybe there is some truth to the wild rumors and legends..."

"Uh…do you mind not feeling up my daughter," said Mr. Kagari uncomfortably.

"Oh, pardon me," she apologized. "It's just that I get very into my work that I often forget proper social cues. Well, now – Star-Born Child – "

"Akko."

"Akko," the woman corrected herself, pulling out a long tape measure with silver marking out of her pocket. "Which is you most favored hand?"

"Er – well, I'm right-handed," said Akko.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." She measured Akko from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around her head. As she measure, she said, "Most wand sellers these days only sell modern designs – metal, retractable, completely unoriginal. I suppose they're more convenient, but they lack creativity and imagination that attracts the wielder. Spellweaver's is different. We take the time and effort to hone our magical instruments to make sure they are properly fitted for the right person. Every Spellweaver's instrument is completely unique – no other like it. And of course, you'll never get such good results from those generic wands."

Akko suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. The shop owner was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," she said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Akko. Try this one. Just take it and give it a wave."

Akko took the wand and waved it around a bit, but the shop owner snatched it out of her hand almost at once.

"No, no, not quite right, how about this scepter – it has a nice feel to it – "

Akko tried – but she hardly raised the scepter when it, too, was snatched back by the shop owner.

"Not that one either, it seems. Hmm, how about you give this staff a try? It comes personally recommended by the Dark Magician. Go on, try it out."

Akko tried. And tried. She had no idea what the shop owner was waiting for. The pile of wands, scepters, and staffs was mounting higher and higher on the counter, but the more instruments the shop owner pulled from the shelves, the happier she seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, huh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere ….Hmm, I wonder…. It's never happened before, but...could it really work?"

The shop owner disappeared in the back for a moment but then came right back with a metal box in her hands and set it on the counter. The shop owner punched in a number combination on the keypad and heard a small **_beep_** before it slowly opened the top and presented it to Akko. Unlike the other wands she tried out, this wand had a leather-padded handle with a small ring at the neck stamped with a white diamond pattern. The rod was made of a silvery metal that glstened in the weak light through the dusty window and ended in four curved prongs that formed a semi-open cage.

Akko took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers and a tiny ball of neon-green light suddenly flared to life at the end of it. She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air, and a shower of green stars shot from the end like fireworks, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Mr. and Mrs. Kagari clapped in awe while Blair whooped and threw her fists in air. But instead of celebrating with the others, the shop owner rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said, "How curious…very curious indeed…."

She put Akko's wand back in its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Never thought such a thing could ever happen…it's unbelievable…."

"Sorry," said Akko," but _what's_ unbelievable."

The shop owner fixed Akko with an unblinking stare.

"My master kept a record of every instrument that was ever sold in this shop, Akko, and I've continued to do the same. As I told you earlier, each Spellweaver's wand is unique because no two wands are alike. The reason for that is because each wand is only fit for one person. There has never been a point in history where a wand has ever had two masters…until today. You see, Akko, the reason why it's so unbelievable is because this wand – " she patted the box in emphasis " – once belong to another witch before you. And even more curious is that the previous master of this wand was... Well, I suppose I shouldn't say too much out of respect for her... I'm certain you'll find out soon enough..."

Akko swallowed.

"Such a thing should be considered impossible, but here we are. The wand chooses a second master….I think we must expect great things from you, Akko….After all, the witch that wielded this wand before you did great things...though not always the right ones..."

Akko shivered. She wasn't sure she liked the shop owner too much anymore. She paid for the wand with her credit card, and the shop owner bowed them from her store.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Blair and the Kagaris stepped out of Westfield and decided to walk their way to the nearest station. Akko didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; she didn't even notice how much people were staring at them on the Underground, more taken with Blair's shapely figure than the funny-shaped packages laden in their arms; she did have a way of attracting attention. Up another escalator, out into Paddington Station; Akko only realized where they were when Mr. Kagari tapped her on the shoulder.

"We got time for a quick dinner before we leave," he said. "After all, it's not often you get to travel to London."

Their dinner ended up being at a quaint little sit-down restaurant. Akko ordered a hamburger – not the steak kind like Akko expected – and they sat down on plastic seats to eat. Akko kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.

"You all right, Akko?" asked Mrs. Kagari out of concern. "You're being unusually quiet. That only happens when you're worried or you did something bad….What did you break?"

"I didn't break anything!" yelped Akko. "It's just that…well, I'm supposed to be something special. All this Star-Born Child business makes me seem a whole lot more important than I actually am. I didn't even know I was a Demi Human until this morning and I don't even know if I could do magic if I tried. And you heard that woman at Spellweaver's. They all expect me to be something great. All because I'm famous for something I can't even remember being famous for. I don't know what happened when Aradia died."

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari leaned across the table and rested their hands on top of Akko's with kind smiles.

"Akko, you don't have to live up to the expectations of others," said Mrs. Kagari. "All you have to do is be the best that you can and everything will sort itself out in the end."

"Besides, no one really knows who you are," said Mr. Kagari. "To everyone else, you're just another girl learning magic. I know you'll learn fast enough. Everyone has to start somewhere, even Shiny Chariot. You'll be just fine."

Akko felt like a great weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. It was true, no one knew that Akko was the Star-Born Child, so that meant she didn't have to work hard to live up to everyone's expectation. She could just go on doing her own thing with worrying about everyone hounding her or putting her on some pedestal. With a relieved smile, Akko hugged her parents' close, who returned the warm embrace.

"Aw, isn't this nice," said Blair sweetly, all the while sneaking the fries off Akko's plate. "So, any ideas how we're getting back to Japan?"

"Wait, aren't you gonna fly us back?" asked Mr. Kagari quickly, pulling away from his wife and daughter to stare at Blair.

"Yeah…," said Blair slowly, looking pointedly away. "I may or may not have crossed the international border without a proper permit and police might be trying to track me down using wayfinders to scan for my magical energy, so I can't really risk using any spells without getting caught.

Akko and the Kagaris stared at her open-mouthed. Well, at least she would have some interesting stories to tell her friends back in Japan…if they ever got back.

* * *

 **And that concludes Akko's shopping spree in London. This chapter was mostly to emphasize that magic has a lot more political regulations in the modern world and has several more restrictions in this version than it did in the source material. I'm also happy with Akko first interaction with one of the more prominent characters that will have a place in her future; it really sets up the dynamic between the two. And if you look carefully, you'll notice some special cameo appearances in the background.**

 **Next chapter: The Journey to Luna Nova**


	6. The Journey to Luna Nova

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Six: The Journey to Luna Nova**

Akko's last month in Japan was bittersweet at best. True, she spent the whole time showing off her new school things to her friends and there was the incident where Hikari dropped her wand in a sewer pipe and they had to go crawling in the muck to find it, but their time together was starting to weigh on her. As the days slowly started to tick away, Akko finally realized that this would be the last time she would see her friends for who knows how long. Hikari, Kyoko, and Yuki would go off to a new school, Kanna would still be in primary, and Akko was being shipped off to a boarding school on the other side of the world. When it finally dawned on her, new worries started to form in her head. Namely whether or not she would be able to communicate with anyone or even make friends.

Akko tried to distract herself by immersing herself in her new textbooks. She wasn't normally the reading type, but there were a lot of interesting things in them, especially when she got into astrology. She would read all the constellations and the history and myths behind each one while Blair would help her with things she didn't understand. Another thing that changed was now that the Kagaris knew Blair's secret, she spent more time walking around the house in her human form. Unfortunately, most of the time she was spotted wearing nothing but her witch's hat, which led to a number of incidents where someone was too distracted to look where they were going. And every night before she went to bed, Akko ticked off another day on her calendar, counting down to September the first, when she would be leaving for Luna Nova.

On the last day of August, Mrs. Kagari had gone all out in preparing a feast for Akko before she went off to school the next day. She had prepared all of Akko's favorites including a delicious blueberry cobbler that she may or may not have taken from work without her boss knowing it. Even Blair decided to join them in human form, only if she agreed to be wearing clothes during dinner.

"So, you two are coming to see us off, right?" asked Blair, her cheeks stuffed to full capacity.

"Miss Kobayashi offered to take over for me tomorrow," said Mr. Kagari.

"Shiro and Momoko are closing Midori-ya tomorrow to see their own daughter off," said Mrs. Kagari. "Nanoha got accepted into Luna Nova too. At least you'll have one friend at school that you'll know."

"So…we're supposed to catch a train at Shibuya Station?" Akko asked Blair for confirmation.

"It's called the Mystic Rail," answered Blair simply. "Luna Nova accepts students from all over the world, but most of them don't have the money to be able to afford travel expenses. The main purpose of the Mystic Rail is to transport all students to Europe safely. Every specialized school in the world uses it, especially the Five Continental Academies."

"How do you get to this Mystic Rail?" asked Mr. Kagari. "Do you have to run through a hidden barrier into a secret station that only magic people can get in?"

"…Seriously, Shuichi, you need to burn those books now," said Mrs. Kagari disdainfully.

"Daaad, you're so embarrassing," Akko groaned into her hands.

"Putting aside Shuichi's misconception about magic in general," said Blair pointedly, "the Mystic Rail can appear in just about any train or subway station. As long as you have your ticket, it can pick you up anywhere in the world. But the ticket is very specific about when you have to be there – the Mystic Rail is a very busy business. If you're late by even a minute, you're not getting on. So we have to be at Shibuya Station at eleven o'clock on the dot."

"Have you ever been late for the train?" Akko asked interestingly.

"Well, there was this one time in my second year," said Blair thoughtfully. "Chariot and I missed the train because she wanted to stop and see the new puppies at the pet shop. We ended up stealing a car and somehow ended up crashing it into a tree at some weird castle in the middle of nowhere Scotland."

How'd you get back to Luna Nova," asked Mrs. Kagari.

"We called a tow truck," said Blair. "There was also this annoying redheaded kid who would stop staring at my tits. Let's just say it's doubtful that he'll ever have kids."

* * *

Akko woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. She got up and pulled on her shorts because she didn't want to walk into the station in her witch's tunic – she'd change on the train. She checked her Luna Nova list yet again to make sure she had everything she needed, saw that Blair was safely tucked into her personalized carrying basket, and then paced the room, waiting for her mother and father to get up. Two hours later, Akko's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the car and they set off into the city.

They reached Shibuya Station at half past ten. Mr. Kagari lifted Akko's trunk, nearly breaking his back, onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for her. Finding the platform was easy enough – the ticket she got in the mail was very specific in everything from the time to the place needed. They traveled to the opposite end of the station until they on the corridor to the Yamanote Line. But when they came around the corner, Akko suddenly stopped in her track, nearly causing her father to run her over with the cart, her eyes wide as dinner plates and her mouth dropped in awe.

Akko had expected that since they were so far away from Europe that there would only be three of four students heading to Luna Nova like she was. But Akko slowly stepped forward and marveled that the entire station was nearly packed with over a hundred people and at least half of them looked like they were students. It suddenly occurred to her just how many Demi-Humans actually lived in the city. If Akko looked closely enough, she could even recognized Nanoha Takamachi from Midori-ya or the gothic-styled Nico Minoru from one of her previous classes.

A purple _Shinkansen_ – or bullet train, as foreigners called them – was waiting next to the platform, dusted with stars and euphoretic colors. An electronic sign overhead said Luna Nova Magical Academy, Eleven o'clock. The engines hummed over endless chattering of the crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Birds screeched to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy luggage.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Mr. Kagari pushed the cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat, snapping Akko out of her stupor. They passed the gloomy girl they saw at the London pharmacy who was talking to someone who could be assumed as her mother.

"Now remember, Sucy, if you make something that might be dangerous, what do you do?"

"Test it out on someone else first and see if it kills them?"

"Good girl."

A dark-skinned girl with bright-orange hair was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Wangari, go on."

The girl lifted the lid of the box in her arms, and the people around her shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

The Kagaris pressed on through the crowd until they found a half-empty carriage near the end of the train. Akko carried Blair inside first while Mr. Kagari started to shove and heave her trunk through the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but he could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. Mrs. Kagari made it explicitly clear that she wasn't going to touch the trunk after she heard some strange noises going off in the car.

"Want a hand?"

Akko poked her head out the window and blinked. Three girls were standing beside them, watching her father struggle with the luggage with some amusement. The leader of the group was definitely American with short orange-colored hair and light-red underneath, which pointed upwards. On her left was a short German girl with long dark blue hair that reaches down to her waist and tied into a low ponytail with a big red ribbon. And on her right was an adorably chubby Russian girl with has long, pink hair that's divided into two braids tied with light red bows.

"Yes, please," said Akko gratefully.

"All right, stand clear," said the American girl. "Constanze, Jasminka, a little help."

Mr. Kagari stood clear as the American girl hopped clear over the trunk with a graceful leap and kicked the corner with her heel, causing the trunk to swing up. The Russian girl caught the trunk by the end and lifted it up with one hand like it weighed as much as a loaf of bread. The German witch then brought out a metal box, which suddenly latched on to Akko's trunk and produced a set of propellers from the top. The strange machine carried Akko's heavy trunk and stored it neatly in the overhead before flying back to its owner.

"Wow, that was awesome," said Akko awestruck.

"Akko, aren't you forgetting something?" said Mrs. Kagari pointedly.

"Oh, um, thank you very much," said Akko quickly.

"Eh, it's no big deal," said the American girl nonchalantly. "So, this your first time to Luna Nova?"

"Yeah," Akko answered excitedly.

"Same with us," said the American girl. "Are you sitting with any one? We have an extra seat if you'd like to join us."

"Uh, yeah, sure, that'd be great," said Akko.

"Awesome," said the American girl. "We're in the middle row towards the back. Come find us when you're done."

Giving a two fingered salute, the American girl stepped past Akko with her foreign friends following close behind.

Akko stepped off the train for a moment and hugged her father first, who ruffled her hair playfully, before hugging her mother next, exchanging small words of "good–bye" and "I'll miss you". But when Akko pulled back, her mother suddenly pulled out a napkin from her purse and started wiping her cheek roughly.

"Akko, you've got some syrup on your face. Honestly, I worry how you even dress yourself in the morning."

Akko could hear the other passengers looking her way and snickering, making Akko flush red with humiliation. She tried to jerk out of her reach, but Mrs. Kagari was nothing if not determined as she grabbed her and rubbed harder.

" _Moooom_ , quit it!" Akko whined. "You're so embarrassing."

"I'm your mother, it's my God-given right to embarrass you."

"Aww, does widdle Akko-nyan has somefink oh her face?" said Blair teasingly until Akko shook her basket roughly. "OW! Hey! Not cool!"

"That's what you get," said Akko.

"All right, all right, that's enough teasing," said Mr. Kagari fondly as he kneeled down to Akko's level and clapped her shoulders admiringly. "All right, sweetie, you have a good term, okay – be sure to send us a letter or drop us an e-mail when you get there – they do have e-mail over there, right?"

"And make sure that you behave yourself," said Mrs. Kagari pointedly, practically threatening Akko with her pointer finger. "I don't want to get any letters from school telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or – "

"Yeah, blowing up a toilet is not really the best idea," said Blair. "Chariot and I accidentally set fire to a bundle of fireworks in the second floor bathroom once – the entire first floor was flooded for over a month and Chariot and I had to clean up the whole thing….I still have nightmares about the…things we found in the water…." She added with a shudder.

"Right, so, basically anything that Blair does, you do the opposite," said Mrs. Kagari immediately.

"Yeah, that might be the best advice you can give," Blair admitted jokingly.

A loud, bellowing horn sounded from the front of the platform. The train was taking off soon. Parents were immediately rushing their children inside.

"Hurry up!" Mrs. Kagari said, and Akko clambered onto the train. She leaned her head out the window to give her parents a final set of good-bye kisses while Blair waved her paw through the opening of her basket.

"Don't worry, mom, dad, I'll remember to send you lots of letters." Said Akko.

"And I'll remember to send you an official Luna Nova toilet seat."

" _Blair!_ "

"Only joking, Kaori!"

The train began to move. Akko pulled her head back inside and closed the window as she saw her parents waving as they started to pull from her view along with the other families sending their best wishes to their girls. Akko pressed her face against the window, straining her eyes to catch one last glimpse of her parents before they rounded the corner and the station disappeared behind them. Buildings and streets blurred past at blinding speeds. Akko must have figured that if the Mystic Rail needed to be everywhere in one day, it only made sense that it would move a hundred times faster than a normal train. Akko felt a great leap of excitement along with a sharp pang of sadness in her chest. She was going to learn magic from the same place as her idol, but it was also the first time she had ever been away from her parents. It a little scary, if Akko was going to be honest with herself.

Akko shook her head and straightened herself determinedly; she wasn't going to get homesick after the first few minutes away. She decided to take up the American girls's offer and headed to the back of the train, stepping through rows of young girls that were either babbling to one another with excitement or calmly reading books or listening to music.

She found the trio of girls that had helped her with her luggage right where they said they be, but there was also one other person that Akko didn't recognize.

"Hey, girl, take a seat right over there," said the American once she noticed her and gestured to the empty seat across from her. "The back of the train is always the best because there's always some place to sit since people always want to be up front for some reason. Just a little something you learn growing up in a busy place like New York."

Akko took the offered seat and pulled Blair's basket on her lap. She was sitting next to the new girl, which gave her a chance to look her over. She was a mousy sort of girl with short, unkempt orange hair and freckles dusting her cheeks. She had semi-rimless glasses with red frames and large, round lenses and carried a skull-shaped lantern on her lap. When she noticed that Akko was staring, she looked away shyly.

"Hey, we never got around to introducing ourselves, did we?" said the American girl, smacking the side of her head with that sudden realization. "Sorry, 'bout that. My mom always said I act before I think. I'm Amanda O'Neill. I'm from a coven of witches in Brooklyn – that's in New York, by the way. My family used to live in Massachusetts, but after the whole Salem Witch Trials thing, we kinda migrated north."

She pointed to the chubby Russian girl on her left, who eating out of a bucket of candy that didn't seem to be depleting no matter how much she took.

"That's Jasminka Antonenko, she's from Moscow. Her mom's a magical confectionery maker and is the part owner of the hugest candy company in Russia. Jasminka's family specializes in magical cooking and they're really famous for it. You know that gingerbread house from the Hansel and Gretel story? Jasminka's great-grandma made it. She didn't know what it was being used for, of course. Jasminka is a pretty mean cook herself."

"Want one?" Jasminka asked, offering one of her pieces of candy. "It's happy flavor."

"Sure," said Akko as she accepted the sweet. When she popped it in her mouth, her tongue was immediately swimming in a tsunami of different flavors that made Akko shudder in delight. "Oh my god, that's sooo good."

"I know, right?" said Amanda with a proud grin

She gestured to the girl who was sitting on her right side, who was fiddling with the strange metal box she used to lift Akko trunk using all kinds of tools from the belt she was hiding under her shirt.

"That's Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger, but you can just call her Constanze."

"Wow, that's a mouthful," said Akko impressively.

"Which is ironic, considering she hardly says anything at all," said Amanda with a hearty laugh and clapping Constanze's back; she did not seem perturbed in the least. "Jasminka and I caught her tinkering with that weird gadget when we stopped off in Munich. Apparently her parents are super genius scientists with lots of patents and stuff. Constanze is the first person in her whole family to be accepted in a magic school."

"Your parents must be so proud of you," Akko said to Constanze.

"Yeah, not really," said Amanda in Constanze's place. "Her parents don't have a high opinion on magic. They think it's just a bunch of smoke and mirrors. They're actually kinda pissed that she's going to Luna Nova in the first place."

"It's really nice to meet you all," said Akko graciously to the girls sitting across from her, but then turned to the shy girl sitting on her right. "What about you?"

"M-Me?" sputtered the shy girl.

"Yeah, what's your name?" asked Akko interestingly, leaning closer to the mousy girl that she started to invade her personal space.

"I – I mean – Lotte," said sputtered nervously. "My name's Lotte Jansson."

"Where're you from, Lotte?" asked Akko.

"Finland," said Lotte softly. "My family a magical item shop in Espoo. We're not really anything special."

"But you come from a family of magic users, right?" asked Akko, who found Lotte ever more interested the more she got to know her.

"Er – yes, I think so," said Lotte thoughtfully. "I think mom has a second cousin who's a tax attorney in Lahti, but we don't like to talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

Lotte, Amanda, and Jasminka were clearly from those old magical families like that pretty but rude girl in London.

"Okay, we told you about our personal info, so spill," Amanda interrupted, putting up her legs in the space between Akko and Lotte. "Who are you? Tell us about yourself. Which magic family are you from?"

"Oh, I'm Atsuko Kagari, but everyone calls me Akko," said Akko enthusiastically. "I don't really come from a magical family. Up until a month ago, I didn't even know I was a Demi-Human – "

From there she went on to tell them everything about themselves, starting from her friends at her old school. Akko seemed to draw up a lot of comparisons between her old friends and her new friends – at least, Akko thought they were her new friends. Amanda reminded her a lot of Hikari; both were attention seeking and both were very devious in their own ways. Constanze was a lot like Yuki – small and reserved to anyone outside their circle of friends with a hidden talent underneath. And Jasminka was similar to Kanna in that they were adorably cute and had a natural way of making people like her. And Lotte definitely reminded Akko of Kyoko, whether it was because of the hair or because they were both shy and easily embarrassed. Akko had worried that it would be hard for her to make new friends, but it just came so naturally when she talked to them.

"…and then Blair pops up, naked of all things, and says to me 'Akko, you're a witch'. Then she tells me all these things about magic and Luna Nova and Aradia – "

The way people reacted in that moment, you would have thought a gunshot had gone off. Everyone in the seats nearby shrieked and cowered away. Amanda's mouth dropped in awe, Jasminka's hand stopped halfway to her bucket, and Constanze had dropped her gadget on the floor. Lotte seemed to take the worst of it. She had gone so pale that it looked like she had died on the spot.

"What?" asked Akko.

" _You said the Eclipse Queen's name_!" said Amanda, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I've never met anyone who had the balls to say her name out loud – "

"It's not like I'm trying to be brave or anything like that just by saying her name," said Akko, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn….I bet," she added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying her a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be," said Lotte assuredly, speaking up for the first time in a while. "There are loads of people who come from non-magical families like you and they learn quickly enough. There're even some people who come from generations of witches who have a hard time learning magic. You won't be alone."

While they had been talking, the train had stopped off in a small station in a place that looked suspiciously like India, though Akko couldn't really confirm it. The next load of students stepped aboard the train before it started taking off again. They were quiet for a time, watching the scenery blur through the windows like an abstract painting.

Around half past twelve according to the train clock there was a great clattering from down either aisle and two smiling, dimpled women slid a cart filled with a mountain of assorted sweets and treats and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Amanda and Jasminka wasted no time leaping to their feet, pulling out their credit cards, and grabbed whatever they liked – Amanda only took a moderate two bars while Jasminka took an entire armful. Mrs. Kagari had always been strict about Akko's consumption of sweets, but her mother wasn't here right now, Akko thought mischievously. She jumped up to her feet, but she heard Lotte's timid voice saying something about bringing sandwiches and felt bad. Maybe she would buy her something.

With her parents constantly limiting her budget, Akko had never had much money for candy, and now that she had an entire account with a massive amount of credit, she was ready to buy as much meiji chocolate as she could carry – but the woman didn't have any meiji chocolate. What she did have were Squid Sister's Color Splashers, Gum-Gum Taffy, Chocolate Dragons, Kitten Cobblers, Rock Candy Wands, and a number of other things Akko had never seen in her life. Not wanting to miss anything, she got some of everything and paid the woman with her card. Blair didn't put up too much of a fuss, so she must not have objected to Akko's spending.

Lotte stared as Akko moved over to the other free seat and dumped it all in the seat between them.

"Wow, that's a lot of candy."

"It's my first time eating witch treats," said Akko plainly, taking a bite of her Kitten Cobbler – it was a cat-shaped pasty that tasted like peaches and cranberries.

Lotte had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. She pulled one of them apart and said, "Granny always forgets I don't like duck meat."

"Swap you for one of those," said Akko, holding up a piece of cobbler. "Go on – "

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Lotte. "She hasn't got much time," she added quickly, "you know, with her job and all."

"Go on, have one – it's _goooood_ ," said Akko, holding the cobbler under Lotte's nose and watched the bespectacled girl's eyes follow it back and forth. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Lotte, Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze, eating their way through all of Akko and Jasminka's cakes and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). It was like Akko was back at primary school with Hikari and the others.

"What are these?" Akko asked Lotte, holding up a pack of Chocolate Dragons. "They're not _really_ dragons, are they? Because I have friends that are dragons and they'd be super mad if they found out we were eating their chocolate cousins."

"Nah, they're not real," answered Amanda for Lotte. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Klarion."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know," said Lotte. "Chocolate Dragons have cards inside them, you know, to collect. Famous figures in magical history. I collect some of them whenever we got in a new shipment, but I haven't got Amethyst or Doctor Strange."

Akko unwrapped her Chocolate Dragon and picked up the card. It showed a woman's face. She wore a white cape with a matching pointed hat, had fiery-red hair, and waved a golden staff with seven jewels. Akko's breath hitched. She knew who this person was without even having to read the name in the caption.

"Oh my god, it's Shiny Chariot!" squealed Akko.

"Seriously?" Amanda said in surprise, leaning forward to confirm it. "Whoa, that's a lucky find. Shiny chariot is one of the rarest cards out there. I thought they had discontinued it a while back. Hey, ya mind if I have a dragon? I might get Klarion – thanks – "

Akko buzzed with excitement as she turned the card over and read:

 **SHINY CHARIOT  
Former Magic entertainer**

 **Considered by many the most powerful witch of modern times,  
Shiny Chariot is particularly famous for her elaborate magic  
show, her defeat of the Dark Master Xehanort, and her work in**  
 **Celestial Magics with her partner, Jellal Fernandes. Shiny Chariot**  
 **went missing over a decade ago following her final battle against**  
 **the Eclipse Queen.**

"Shiny Chariot is the best," said Akko with glee as she flipped the card over again and stared into the face of her hero. "I used to collect all of Shiny Chariot's cards. The only one I never really found was the ultra-rare premium card."

"You're a really big fan, huh?" said Lotte with a soft smile.

"Shiny Chariot is my hero," said Akko with admiration apparent. "She's the reason I fell in love with magic in the first place….But…I guess of a lot of people don't like Chariot, huh?"

"Yeah, that's kind of a given," said Amanda with a grimace as she unwrapped another dragon. "Even if she did all those amazing things, the old traditionalist don't want people to think it's all right using magic to put on silly shows and entertain people. So they start talking trash about her and try tearing down her reputation. A lot of kids who come from the older families buy into it. Ugh, damn, I've got another Rita Repulsa. And I've got about six of her."

"…what do you guys think about Chariot?" Akko asked in a small voice.

"I like her," said Amanda automatically, reaching for another dragon. "Anyone who likes to give those old hags the middle finger is okay in my books. Right, Constanze?"

Constanze stopped tinkering with her gadget for a moment to give Akko a quick thumbs-up before going back to work.

"She makes people happy," said Jasminka, nibbling on a rock candy wand. "That makes her super nice."

"What about you, Lotte?" Akko asked the bespectacled girl hopefully.

"I…think she's all right," said Lotte with a bit of hesitation that Akko didn't notice. "She's definitely…interesting."

"Isn't she?" squealed Akko.

Akko felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulder as she sat back in her seat and watched her new friends make short work of their candy pile. After her encounter with the pretty blonde girl, she was worried people might tear into her for liking Shiny Chariot, but that didn't seem to be the case with these girls. Lotte was quiet and mostly kept to herself, but she did join the conversation when it was directed at her. Constanze was spending most of her time fiddling with her gadget and only stopped briefly when Amanda fed her a snack (she's like a puppy!) Jasminka and Amanda nearly came to blows when it came to the candy, but Amanda was only really interested in the Chocolate Dragon cards. When she found one she already had, she gave it to Akko. Soon she not only had Shiny Chariot and Rita Repulsa, but Beatrix the Affectionate, Doctor Fate, Sauron, Zelena the Wicked Witch, and Twilight Sparkle. She finally tore her eyes away from Tia Dalma to open a bag of Squid Sister's Color Splashers.

"You might want to be careful with those," Jasminka warned Akko. "Those Color Splashers are very literal in their meaning. When you bite into one, they explode everywhere and spray colors everything with flavored juices. They can be really messy if you don't eat them properly. They also have thousands of different flavors depending on each one. Sometimes you get normal ones like chocolate and strawberry and green apple, but then you can get liver and onions and dirty socks and troll armpit."

"Better listen to her, she's a connoisseur," said Amanda proudly.

Akko picked up a green piece, looked at it carefully, and cautiously put it in her mouth. When she bit down on it, she practically jumped in her seat when a massive explosion of juices went off, coating her taste buds with a flavor that didn't agree with her.

"Bleaaargh – why? Why spinach? How does Popeye eat this stuff?"

They had a good time eating the Color Splashers. Akko got cinnamon toast, coconut, baked beans, cherry, spicy curry, lawn clippings, black coffee, sardines, and was even brave enough to try a funny gray one Lotte wouldn't touch, which turned out to vinegar.

They looked out the window after a while. They still couldn't see things clearly because of the blur of motion, but the colors were starting to get darker outside, which meant it was getting close to night time wherever they were in the world.

Someone shuffled past Akko's field of view and she looked up at the gloomy-looking witch she had seen at the pharmacy and on the platform. Now that Akko had a better look at her, she noticed that the girl's skin was almost deathly pale and her curly long hair that draped over her left eye was almost lacking in both color and proper care. Her only visible red eye was half-lidded, either because she was bored or because she was about to fall asleep soon. She was craning her head around the aisles as if looking for something and turned to Akko's group.

"Hey, have any of you seen a rat running around here?" she asked. "I need him for my experiment."

"No, we haven't seen any rats," said Akko. "What kind of experiment are you doing."

"I wanted to see how many drops of hyper-lethal poison it could drink before it dies," the gloomy girl said casually.

"That is insanely morbid," said Amanda, looking more than a little creeped out by the girl.

"Thanks," said the gloomy girl with a sort-of smile.

"Hey, aren't you Sucy Manbavaran?" said Lotte, leaning over for a better look at the her. "Yeah, I thought I recognized you. You're Susan Manbavaran's daughter, aren't you?"

"Susan Manbavaran?" Akko repeated, scratching her head. "Susan…Susan…where have I heard that name before?"

"You probably saw it on your Magical Drafts and Potions book," Lotte informed her. "Susan Manbavaran is a world renowned Pharmaceutical Master from the Philippines and is the Chief Physician at the largest magical hospital in the world. She's been credited for the discovery of over one hundred different forms of poisons and diseases and she has personally developed a vaccine for each one. The Manbavans are actually one of the oldest families of witches dating back to the twelfth century when Annaliese Manbavan formulated a vaccine for the Black Plague."

"Even though she was the one that accidentally created the plague in the first place," Sucy added nonchalantly.

"Damn, that's a lot to live up to," said Amanda, whistling impressively.

"Eh, I guess," said Sucy, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't care how famous her family was. "But seriously, have any of you seen my rat? This particular draft of poison I'm using explodes when it expires – I don't really care much for wasting products. Unless one of you is willing to be the Guinea pig. What about you?" She spoke directly to Akko this time. "You look like you would be fun to play with."

"Uh, no thanks," said Akko timidly, slowly edging away from the creepy girl.

"Your loss," said Sucy.

And with that, she floated away, leaving the five girls shuddering at her fleeing backside.

"Okay, that was seriously creepy," said Amanda. "Whatever house I'm in, I seriously hope she's not in it."

"Speaking of which, do any of you know what house you'll be in?" asked Lotte, glad for a change of subject. "I have family members who've been in almost every house in Luna Nova. My mom was in Lunar House, but both of my aunts were in the Eclipse and Corona Houses and my granny was in Polaris. I was thinking I might try and go into either one of them, but I think the Twilight House might be more fitting. I'm not entirely sure how it works."

"I'm aiming for the Polaris House," said Amanda proudly. "The House of Freedom – that totally sounds perfect for me. Although you'd probably end up in the Lunar House, wouldn't ya, Constanze. You being insanely smart and all."

Constanze looked up from her work and seemed almost downcast when she turned her eyes up at Amanda. The American witch only grinned and chuckled as she ruffled Constanze's hair, seemingly able to understand her unspoken language.

"Aw, you know I'd never leave ya, Constanze," she said. "You and me, we're stuck to each other like glue. What about you, Jasminka? Any ideas which house you're gettin' in?"

"Hmm…I haven't really thought about it," said Jasminka. "But wherever I end up going, I hope they have lot of tasty treats."

"What about you, Akko?" asked Lotte. "Which house are you hoping for?"

"The Polaris House, obviously," said Akko confidently.

"Let me guess, it's because Shiny Chariot was in that house," said Amanda smugly. She had only known Akko for a few hours and she already figured out her thought process. "Not that I have reason to complain since I'm trying for the same house. If I don't get in Polaris, I could at least try out for Corona. Just as long as they don't put me in Eclipse. I'd probably drop out right then and there."

"What's wrong with the Eclipse House?" asked Akko curiously.

"Hello!" said Amanda like it should have been obvious from the get-go. "The Eclipse Queen used to be in that house. Why do you think she called herself the Eclipse Queen. Everyone knows there isn't a bad witch alive that wasn't from the Eclipse House. And her majesty was about the worst there was. And speaking of bad people – " Amanda leaned forward, dropping her voice to an ominous tone " – did you hear what happened at the Department of Demi-Human in London a few weeks back? It was all over the news, but I guess you don't really get that since you live with Humans – someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Akko and the others stared. Blair's ear perked up and opened one eye towards the American.

"Really? What happened to them?" asked Lotte.

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My mom says it must've been a powerful Demi-Human to get through a government building's security system, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's weird. Of course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case the Eclipse Queen is behind it."

Akko turned this news over in her mind. She was starting to get a prickle of fear every time the Eclipse Queen was mentioned. She supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but had been a lot more comfortable saying "Aradia" without worrying.

"What's your favorite Chariot Race team?" Jasminka asked suddenly.

"Er - I don't know any," Akko confessed.

"What!" Amanda looked horrified like Akko had committed some cardinal sin. "Oh, we'll just have to change that! Just you wait, it's the best game in the world – " And she was off, explaining all the five players and the unique point system that had a thousand different rules that could add or subtract to your total, describing famous games she'd been to with her family and the broomstick she'd like to get if she ever had the chance to steal – buy – one. She was just taking Akko through the finer points of the game when the carriage door slid open loudly and a sharp whistle caused everyone to turn their attention towards the front.

Three girls had entered, and Akko immediately recognized the one in the middle: it was the pretty blonde girl from the Dress-Make shop. She was looking around the carriage with her hands on her hips and her chin tilted up, giving her a sense of authority.

"Attention, everyone, please, all eyes up here!" she called. "I've just spoken with the conductor and have been informed that we will arrive at our destination in half an hour! Everyone is to put away their things, put on their uniforms, and prepare to disembark! Anything that is left behind will automatically be put in the lost and found and you will not be allowed to recover your items until the next train arrives during the holidays! Come on now, hurry up!"

The pretty blonde girl clapped her hands and almost immediately everyone scramble around the carriage trying to sort out their possessions and put on their school uniforms. Some of the more experienced students used magic to swap out their clothing, but some of the newer students had to actually change in the middle of the train, which was especially embarrassing for Lotte given the lack of privacy. The blonde girl marched up the aisle with her hands folded behind her back, reminding Akko of her old teacher that had once been a drill sergeant for the army. Akko was just pulling on her tunic when the blonde girl suddenly stopped in the aisle next to her and they locked eyes with one another. There was a long pause between them and if it wasn't for their previous encounter, Akko would have thought the girl's eyes were unbearably gorgeous.

"I see you managed to found your way all right," she said evenly. "It's a good thing, I suppose. I had almost worried that you might not have made it given your particular…mindset."

"Yeah, I made it just fine," said Akko. She was looking at the other girls. One had way brown hair tied up in a ponytail and the other had straight black hair that went down to her waist. They were standing on either side of the blonde girl and seemed to be hanging on her every word like a couple of groupies.

"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself," said the pretty blonde girl. "My name is Diana Cavendish. These are my friends, Hannah England and Barbara Parker. And you are?"

"Akko Kagari," Akko answered short, but politely.

"Well, Akko, I hope you took my advice since the last time we met," said Diana, crossing her arms and giving her a look of mild disinterest. "Wasting your time fawning over a grandstanding mockery of witch kind like Shiny Chariot. But then again – " she added, noticing the Shiny Chariot card on top of Akko's pile. "- it seems that some lessons are more difficult to teach."

"Shiny Chariot is not a…whatever you just said," growled Akko, seething as she got up close to Diana. "She the most amazing and fantastic witch to ever live."

"Oh my god, you actually like Shiny Chariot?" said Hannah mockingly over Diana's shoulder. "That must be so embarrassing. I feel so embarrassed for you."

"Only little babies actually think that old fraud is any good," Barbara joined in on Diana's other shoulder. "Are you a little baby? Do you want your bottle? Do you need your diaper changed?"

Hannah and Barbara laughed out loud and they weren't the only ones. Nearly everyone in the carriage was looking at them and they were all pointing and laughing at Akko, who could feel the heat climbing up her face. She didn't have any reason to be, but Akko couldn't help feeling like she was being publicly humiliated. Akko eyes were prickling with tears about ready to fall. The only bright spot to all this was that Diana didn't join in the laughter; she seemed to act like she was above it all.

Suddenly, Amanda, Constanze, Jasminka, and Lotte all stood up and glared.

"You shut your goddamn mouths before I knock your teeth out," Amanda threatened.

"Let's all calm down for a moment," Diana cut in before Hannah and Barbara could get a word in. "This doesn't need to come to violence."

"The hell it does?" hissed Amanda. "You just walk up in here like you own the place and talk down to one of our friends. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"You don't know who Diana is?" said Hannah disdainfully. "She's like a celebrity in the magic world. Her family goes back over fifteen thousand years and comes from the purest magical blood."

"Everyone says she's the greatest witch ever to be accepted to Luna Nova since its founding," Barbara added. "You all should consider yourself lucky to be graced with her presence."

"Well, _princess,_ why don't you take your high and mighty ass somewhere else?" said Amanda scathingly; Jasminka and Constanze nodded in agreement.

"Don't you dare talk to Diana like that, you urchin!" Hannah snapped.

"Apologize right now!" Barbara demanded.

"Oh yeah, make me!" yelled Amanda

This was getting way out of hand in Akko's opinion. They looked like they were about to brawl right here in the middle of the train. And the whole time, Diana said nothing on her side; if anything, she looked mildly annoyed.

Amanda pulled up her sleeve with her knuckles presented to Diana's groupies while Jasminka and Constanze looked ready to provide back up if necessary. Hannah and Barbara jumped in their leader's defense as their hands went for their wands. Lotte was hiding behind Akko, who was fumbling with her words, trying to think of a way to avoid outright conflict. Amanda started to take a step forward when Blair suddenly jumped in between and exploded in a puff of purple smoke. A moment later, she appeared in human form, making everyone except Akko and Diana jump back in surprise. The cat-witch's golden eyes were narrowed sharply, first focusing on Amanda and then rolling to Hannah and Barbara; all three of them trembled without understanding why.

"Girl, break it up – now!" Blair hissed, making it pointedly clear that she wasn't asking.

The girls back away to their respective groups. They didn't want to take any chances against a clearly experienced witch.

"Hannah, Barbara, that's enough," said Diana. "You've caused quite enough unnecessary commotion. Besides, we'll be arriving at the station momentarily."

Diana turned away with her chin up and her hair whipping behind her as she walked away with Hannah and Barbara scramble after her.

With that crisis averted, Blair tilted her head and resumed her cat form again, climbing up the seat again and curling into her basket. Everyone was staring at them, Akko noticed, and it wasn't too surprising considering they had just seen her cat transform into a drop-dead bombshell. Akko slowly sat back down along with her friends, feeling uncomfortable by the numerous stares they were receiving.

Thankfully, they didn't have to stand it for much longer when the train stared to slow down. Akko looked out the window and could properly see a wide forest under a deep purple sky. A voice echoed through the train intercoms: "We will be arriving at Luna Nova in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Akko's stomach lurched with nerves and Lotte, she saw, looked pale under her freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the aisles.

The train finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Akko shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of students, and Akko heard a familiar voice: "First years! First years over here! Oh, hello again, Akko."

Ursula's kindly face beamed through the sea of heads.

"Come along, follow me – any more first years? Mind your step, now! First years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Ursula down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Akko thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Lotte shivered and sniffed once or twice. After what seemed like hours, they came upon a wide, wrought iron gate that lead to nowhere. Ursula turned back to the students.

"Attention, new students!" Ursula called over the crowd. "Through these gates is one of many entrances to Luna Nova Academy! The school exists in an alternate plain of reality and can only be accessed through special gateways! As a safety precaution, we ask that you please form up into groups and hold hands!"

Akko immediately went for Lotte's hand, making her jump in surprise. Amanda had grabbed Akko's free hand and linked up with Jasminka and Constanze.

"Is everyone ready?" shouted Ursula. "Right then – OPEN THE GATE!"

The doors flew open with an echoing creek and a portal of ethereal green energy exploded into existence between the barriers. Ursula was the first to walk through the wormhole, followed by Diana's group and then the rest of the students slowly entered the portal one by one. When it was their turn, Akko took a single step inside and suddenly felt like she was being lurched forward by her naval, being thrown through the tunnel against gales forces at a hundred miles per hour. She could hear her friends screaming on either side of her.

And before Akko knew what happened, he was suddenly standing on solid ground again, her legs feeling like jelly. She had to lean on Amanda's shoulder to keep herself from falling over.

Suddenly, the other students starting making oohing noises and Akko forced herself to look up.

A narrow pathway in a dense forest led up to a vast, white stone castle the size of two football stadiums. Barely glimmering in the distance behind the castle was a pair of towers, one of them twice the height of the castle, but looked remarkably hollow.

"This way please!" yelled Ursula as she took the lead; they all quickly fell into step with her as they marched through the forest path that opened up into a wide open courtyard with a sparkling fountain topped with a marble statue of a witch wielding a peculiar staff. It was too dark to see the witch's face or the shape of the staff, but there were seven jewels that seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. They walked around the fountain until they reached a pair of massive mahogany doors engraved with colorful patterns and strange lettering in a language that Akko couldn't begin to understand.

Ursula paused at the door, bending down to pick something up off the ground.

"Excuse me, but did anyone lose a rat?" said Ursula, waving the gray-furred, stubby-tailed rodent over her head.

"There you are, Deadmeat," said Sucy with a small, but wicked smile as she held out her hands. The rat let out a fearful squeak and tried to run away, but Sucy wrapped her hand around the rodent's tiny body, keeping him from going anywhere. "You've been very bad. Guess who's going to be doing double experiments tonight."

"All right, is everyone here?" called Ursula. "Everything got what they need?"

Ursula raised her first and knocked three times on the castle doors.

* * *

 **We finally get introduced to the rest of the cast and even though I'm not particularly happy with a lot of parts, I think I managed to get my point across enough. Just to tell everyone ahead of time, this story won't strictly revolve around Akko, Lotte, and Sucy like in the source material. Whenever possible, I want to include all six characters because I think they have great chemistry as a group. Diana, though, is a difficult character to pin down in this story. She's essentially the Draco to Akko, but she is not outright antagonistic towards Akko and some would even say she respects Akko in some regard. It's going to be a challenge going forward, but I will put forth my best effort.**


	7. The Magic Mirror

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Seven: The Magic Mirror**

The doors swung open at once. A tall, brunette witch dressed in the same uniform as Ursula stood there. She had a very stern face and Akko's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The first years, Professor Finnelan," said Ursula.

"Thank you, Professor Ursula. I will take them from here."

She pulled the doors wide. The entrance hall was so big you could fit the whole of the Kagari's house in it. the stone walls were lit with torches of green flames, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble statue of a witch mounted atop of vicious-looking dragon brandishing a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

They followed Professor Finnelan across the flagged stone floor. Akko could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor Finnelan showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering nervously.

"Welcome to Luna Nova Magical Academy," said Professor Finnelan formally. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Assembly Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Luna Nova. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitories, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The five houses are called Corona, Lunar, Eclipse, Twilight, and Polaris. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches. While you are at Luna Nova, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup and the most exemplary student of the year selected by the headmistress shall be awarded the title of Moonlit Witch, a very prestigious honor that will open many opportunities for when you graduate.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Jasminka, who had been eating nonstop since arriving at the school, to Constanze, who chose fiddling with her gadget over listening to Finnelan, to Amanda, whose skirt was definitely way too short to be regulation. Akko nervously tried to straighten her hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor Finnelan. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Akko swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into house?" she asked Lotte.

"Some sort of test, I think. My granny didn't tell me much because she wanted it to be a surprise."

Akko's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But she didn't know any magic yet – what on Earth would she have to do? She hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. She looked around anxiously and saw that nearly everybody else looked just as terrified, too. No one was talking much. The only one who didn't look worried was Diana Cavendish, who remained just as poised and haughty as she was back on the train. Akko had never been more nervous, never, not even when she had to take a school report home saying she had somehow turned her teacher's wig purple. She kept her eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor Finnelan would come back and lead her to her doom.

Then something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air – the left side wall exploded without warning.

"What the - ?"

She gasped. So did the people around her. Something flew through the hole, bouncing off the chamber walls like a fly against a window. Only when it stop for a brief moment did Akko realize that it was a long red broom with arrowhead-shaped tip and feathered end. There were two metal vices around its neck and brush with a long chain whipping around the air, causing many of the students to duck. The broom turned its head trying to look for a way out when someone shouted: "You're not getting out of here that easily!"

A woman jumped through the hole and latched on to the broom's neck. She had dark hair that ended in violet tresses with a jagged horn growing out of her forehead and a sea serpent's tail growing out from behind – she was a dragon.

A brief struggle went on where the broom tried to knock off the dragon, but the dragon summoned a jagged trident, locking the broom's body between the blades, and stabbing it into the floor to prevent it from escaping. The broom struggled against the trident, but the weapon was buried deep in the flagstone. The dragon wiped her forehead with a relieved sigh when she suddenly noticed the first years.

"Oh, new students!" said the dragon, smiling around at them like she hadn't just been in a fight with a cleaning utensil. "You're all about to be sorted, right?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Well, I hope to see some of you in Twilight!" said the dragon. "That was my old house, you know."

"Uh, excuse me," Amanda finally spoke up. "But what's up with that broom."

"Oh, that?" said the dragon, sparing a glance at the struggling broom. "That's a rogue broom called the Shooting Star. It call fly on its own magical energy and is said to be the fastest broom in the world. Unfortunately, it possesses an extremely wild and uncontrollable behavior. I normally keep it locked up in my office, but it broke its restraints again. Looks like I need to double up – "

"Is that right?" said Amanda thoughtfully with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Move along, Elma," said a sharp voice. "The Sort Ceremony's about to start."

Professor Finnelan had returned. Elma the Dragon grabbed the rogue broom by the neck and pulled it back through the hole in the wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor Finnelan told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, Akko got into line behind Sucy Manbavaran, with Lotte behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Assembly Hall.

Akko had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of glowing spirits of every color of the rainbow floating over five high rows of bleachers that curved with the round wall of the Assembly Hall, where the rest of the students were sitting. Pristine woven tapestries were hung above each of the bleachers, each one with its own unique symbol and their house name woven in their respective color. At the front of the hall was a stage where the teachers were standing. Professor Finnelan led the first years into the center of the chamber, so that they formed three separate lines facing the teachers, with the students behind them. Akko could feel the thousands of eyes staring at her back, running a shiver down her spine. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Akko looked upwards and watching the floating spirits swim across the ceiling. She heard Lotte whisper, "They're fairies that reside in the ancient walls of the castle. You can't normally see them, but my granny taught me a song to call and calm them."

It was hard to believe that there was a ceiling there at all, and that they weren't just staring into another plane of existence.

Akko quickly looked down again as Professor Finnelan silently dragged a large, golden ornate mirror in front of the first years. The mirror looked very old as much of the golden features had lost their luster and more there were more than a few dozen scratches on the mirror surface.

Maybe it's like the magic mirror from Snow White, Akko thought amusingly, but there was no way that was a real possibility;. However, she noticed that everyone in the Assembly Hall was now staring at the mirror, so she stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the mirror surface turned black. Suddenly, a featureless face appeared in the mirror, its eyes and mouth hollow and empty – and the mirror began to sing:

 _"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_  
 _But don't judge on what you see,_  
 _I'll smash myself if you can find_  
 _A smarter mirror than me._  
 _Whether through the looking-glass,_  
 _Or compact so handy and small,_  
 _I am the Luna Nova Magic Mirror,_  
 _And I will be the fairest of all._  
 _There's nothing hidden in your head_  
 _The Magic Mirror cannot see,_  
 _So step on up and I will tell you_  
 _Where you ought to be._  
 _You might belong to Corona,_  
 _where fortune favors the strong,_  
 _Their might, nerve, and fortitude_  
 _may be where you belong;_  
 _You might belong in Lunar,_  
 _If you've a ready mind,_  
 _Where those of wit and learning,_  
 _Will always find their kind;_  
 _Or yet in unflappable Twilight,_  
 _Where the most patient reside,_  
 _These calm cool and collected witches_  
 _Will always stand by your side;_  
 _Or perhaps in Eclipse_  
 _You'll make your real friends,_  
 _Those cunning folk use any means_  
 _To achieve their own ends;_  
 _But let us not forget Polaris_  
 _Home to the proud and free,_  
 _Their minds and hearts unbound_  
 _and brave spirits that will never flee._  
 _So please step forward! Don't be afraid!_  
 _Your futures could not be clearer!_  
 _You're in safe hands (thought I have none)_  
 _For I am the Magic Mirror!"_

The Assembly Hall burst into applause as the mirror finished its song. It nodded to each of the five bleachers and then faded into the dark backdrop.

"So we've just got to look in a mirror!" Amanda whispered to Akko. "I heard Wangari going on about wrestling a troll. I'm gonna kill her!"

Akko smiled weakly. Yes, looking at yourself in front of a mirror was a lot better than having to do a spell, but she did wish they could do it without everyone watching. But Akko collected herself and took a deep breath. All she had to do was look the mirror straight in the glass and it would tell her she belonged in Polaris. She definitely – DEFINITELY – belong in Polaris.

Professor Finnelan now stepped forward holding a long roll of paper.

"When I call your name, you will step in front of the mirror and be sorted," she said. "Ainsworth, Catherine!"

So she wasn't was going first; Akko felt simultaneously relieved and worried that the wait would make her nerves worse. A gangly sort of girl with light-purple hair tied in a bun nervously pushed through the group and stopped directly in front of the Magic Mirror. A moment passed with Catherine only staring at her reflection when -

"CORONA!"

The stands directly to Akko's right jumped and cheered as Catherine, looking immensely relieved, strode over to join them. Elma the Dragon was standing next to them, clapping Sarah on the shoulder when she sat down -

"Antonenko, Jasminka!"

Akkko immediately spun around when her friend's name was called. Jasminka was still eating out of her seemingly endless bucket as she walked up to the mirror. Professor Finnelan was annoyed by this and tried to snatch the bucket away, but Jasminka's lightning-quick reflexes pulled it out of her reach at the last second, causing the professor to fall over. There were a few people in the stands snickering behind their hands, but no one dared to laugh out loud. A moment passed when Jasminka took her place in front of the mirror –

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror.

The bleachers on the far right cheered and clapped as Jasminka went to sit down with the rest of the Polaris students.

"Ameli – von Brown – shuch – bank," Professor Finnelan struggled to say the next name and just pointed to Constanze instead. "You! Get up here!"

Constanze stepped up, taking a screwdriver to her strange gadget as she did so. Like Jasminka, Professor Finnelan tried to snatch the gadget away, but Constanze stooped low and sent the professor flying over her head. It was becoming harder for the students not to break down with laughter –

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror again, and Constanze scuttled off to sit next to Jasminka.

"Bernhardt, Sarah!"

A tall German girl with ginger hair bounded up to the mirror, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, and stared deep into the glass. Everyone in the hall watched her. Then the mirror cried out -

"CORONA!"

The Corona crowd cheered again and Sarah, pink-faced and smiling, practically bounced over and plopped into an open spot next to Catherine -

"Cavendish, Diana!"

As Diana stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the Assembly Hall.

"Cavendish, did she say?"

"The Cavendish?"

It seems like Diana's reputation wasn't as exaggerated as Akko thought it would be. All the students were whispering to one another and several of them were praying for Diana to be sorted into their house. Even the teachers were focusing solely on Diana rather than reprimanding the students for the level of noise. And the whole time, Diana just stared into the mirror, somehow able to block out all the chatter. Akko was amazed by how well Diana was able to handle the pressure of thousands of people looking up to her with great expectations. Akko certainly wouldn't be able to take it.

Diana seemed to take the longest to decide. It had already been three minutes since she had stepped up and the mirror had yet to decide a place for Diana. Akko actually felt an inkling of worry for Diana when –

"LUNAR!" shouted the mirror.

If someone had been standing outside the Assembly Hall, they would think an explosion had gone off by the way the Lunar students on the far left all suddenly jumped up and broke into screams of jubilation. Diana flipped her hair all conceited-like, casually strolling over to the bleachers with her new classmates, many of whom were taunting the other houses with yells of "We got Cavendish! We got Cavendish!" Akko didn't really pay much attention to them and focused on Diana herself. Her face showed indifference like it normally did, but Akko was the only one to notice that Diana's left hand was shaking and she had to use her right hand to stop it.

"Chang, Lin-Lin!"

"CORONA!"

Akko snapped out of her reverie as the second bleachers from the left clapped this time. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks, scolding herself. She couldn't afford to worry about Diana; she had her own Sorting to deal with.

A Peruvian girl named Carmen Diaz became an Eclipse, but "Delevingne, Zizi" and "Dubois, Chloe" became the first new Twilight students and the bleachers in the middle exploded with cheers. Hannah England obviously went to Lunar, wasting no time sliding up to Diana and pushing everyone else out of the way -

"Jansson, Lotte!"

Lotte was looking very green by the time she managed to awkwardly walk up to the mirror; the poor girl looked like she was about to pass out. Akko crossed their fingers and a second later the mirror had shouted -

"POLARIS!"

Akko clapped loudly with the rest as Lotte collapsed into the seat next to Jasminka and Constanze, looking equal parts relieved and exhausted while "Jilani, Irene" was sorted into Eclipse

Sometimes, Akko noticed, the mirror shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide, just like it did with Diana. A horrible thought struck Akko, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if she wasn't chosen at all? What if she just stood there staring into the mirror for ages, until Professor Finnelan ripped her away and said there had obviously been a mistake and she'd better get back on the train? What if she –

"Kagari, Atsuko!"

Akko nearly jumped at the sound of her own name. Her legs felt stiff; she couldn't move. But, like any good friend, Amanda gave her a good (and very rough) shove, propelling her forward until she was standing in front of the mirror.

Akko stared deeply into the reflective surface, only seeing herself while the background was completely pitch-black. She waited…and then her mirror self suddenly smirked with hints of amusement and arrogance, putting one fist on her hip and cocking her head.

"Well, well, well, the Star-Born Child, this is a pleasure," said Mirror-Akko, chuckling in a vulgar way that made the hair on the back of Akko's neck stand up. "Let's take a good look at you. Hmm, not very bright, I see. Not particularly strong either. And patience is definitely not your strong suit. I had expected the Star-Born Child to be something…more. But wait, what's this I see? Ah, yes, I know this. It's ambition. You have a goal – a desire you wish to make reality – and you are willing to do anything to make it happen. Yes, you'd be perfect in Eclipse – "

"What? No?" Akko sputtered frantically. "I don't want to go to Eclipse; I want to be in Polaris!"

"Polaris? Are you out of your mind, girl?" Mirror-Akko taunted her. "You think you can achieve anything with that house of rejects? They literally live in the clouds. If you were to join Eclipse, you would be on the fast-track to greatness. I know, because I can see your future. I can see greatness in you, but only if you are willing to stand beside others like you – in Eclipse."

"No!" snapped Akko furiously. "Shiny Chariot is my idol! I've been dreaming about joining the same house as her ever since I found out I was a witch! I don't care about being the greatest witch, or even the most powerful or most famous! My dream is to one day because an amazing witch that uses magic to bring happiness to others, just like Shiny Chariot did for me! I don't care what you say, you stupid mirror, because I'm joining the Polaris house whether you like it or not!"

"So you've made your choice," said Mirror-Akko, no longer smiling. "And I have made mine. You had best hope that you don't one day come to regret this – POLARIS!"

Akko heard the mirror shout the last word to the whole hall. She stepped away from the mirror and walked shakily toward the Polaris bleachers. She was so relieved to have been chosen into Polaris and not put in Eclipse, she hardly noticed that she had taken a seat between Jasminka and Lotte until the Russian girl clapped her hard on the back, throwing her face down into the floor.

Akko crawled back up to her seat as "Koch, Elfriede" was sorted into Eclipse. She could see the stage properly now. At the end nearest her was Ursula, who caught her eye and gave her an acknowledging nod. Akko grinned back. And there, in the center of the stage, standing at a high podium, was Miranda Holbrooke. Akko recognized her from the many times Blair had described the headmistress as "Granny". When the Magic Mirror declared that Makoto Kowata would be in Twilight, a teacher with tanned skin and silvery-gray hair unexpectedly started jumping up and waving her hands cheerfully.

"Way to go, Makoto!" she shouted for the whole hall to hear. "You got into the same house as me! Good job!"

"Sis, you're embarrassing me!" Makoto Kowata whined.

An emoji-faced girl named "Little, Alice" got sorted into Twilight while "Lokisdotter, Sóla" joined Corona. They were more than halfway done with the sorting -

"Manbavaran, Sucy!" Finnelan continued while shooting a glare at the other teacher, who scratched her head sheepishly.

Sucy practically dragged herself lethargically up to the mirror, looking like she wished she could be anywhere but here.

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror. Akko could see Amanda groaning.

"McVinegar, Balsa" had tripped over her own two feet when her name was called, but valiantly got back up to her feet and walked up to the mirror amid a gales of laughter where she was immediately sent to Twilight along with Makoto. "Minoru, Nico" was sorted into Eclipse, which seemed understandable to Akko considering she had been dressing like a goth and dabbling in the dark arts since they were eight. A strict studious-looking girl named "Müller, Gaëlle" was selected for the Lunar house with little doubt in anyone's mind.

Amanda swaggered forward when her name was called and got her wish at once: the mirror barely had to glance at her before it screamed, "POLARIS!"

Amanda joined them on the bench, taking a seat next to Constanze and high-fiving Akko, looking quite pleased with herself.

There weren't many people left. Everything had seemed to move a lot slower when Akko was nervously waiting for her turn, but now that it was all behind her, the Sorting seemed to go in double time. And before she knew it, only four people were left to be sorted. Barbara Parker, obviously, ended up being sorted into Lunar with Diana and Hannah, immediately joining them before the mirror even got through declaring her house. "Shidariza, Verde" was sent to Corona as well. Nanoha Takamachi stopped briefly to wave hello to Akko when her name was called, but was sorted to the Lunar house instead of joining Akko in Polaris. And finally, "Vasquez, Priscilla" was sent to Eclipse.

Professor Finnelan rolled up her scroll and took the Magic Mirror away.

Miranda Holbrooke raised her hand to call silence in the Assembly Hall. She was beaming at the students; her arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased her more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" she said. "Welcome to a new year at Luna Nova! Before we move to the dining room for our start-of-term banquet, I would like to say a few words….The triple-layered chocolate cake is in limited supply, so it's first come, first serve. Later, suckers!"

The next thing Akko knew, the headmistress was running out of the Assembly Hall and all the students in the stands, and even some of the teachers, were scrambling after her – Amanda was, of course, one of the first people to get a head start. Akko turned to Lotte for answers, but she looked just as flabbergasted as she was. When the Assembly Hall was half empty, Akko and Lotte jumped to their feet and joined the crowd crossing the grand foyer into the second set of double doors opposite the Assembly Hall. Akko and Lotte stopped at the threshold as the other students shoved their way through, taking it all in.

The dining room was even bigger than the Assembly Hall and had two other floors overlooking the wide, open area. Thousands of circular tables were spread out across each floor, some of them glittering with golden legs and molding, some of them made of unfurnished wood, and some of them weren't even tables at all but statues of different animals and magical creatures. And there, on the right hand side of the room, were the concession tables.

Akko could feel her mouth becoming moist. There must have been thousands of dishes neatly organized on the row of tables. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table. There was hamburger steak, pork cutlets, and towers of sushi, but there were also foods from other nations like spicy-hot curry, pierogi and sauerkraut, tamales and sweet potatoes, gyros and feta cheese, shrimp dumplings and spring rolls, Bisque and macarons, and crawdads and gumbo.

Akko's parents never let her go hungry, but she'd never been allowed to eat as much as she liked, especially from such a wide variety. Akko piled her plate with a bit of everything except the curry because she couldn't handle spicy foods and started looking for a seat.

"Oy, Akko, over here!"

Amanda waved her over from a seat near the back wall with the rest of her friends. Akko took a seat next to Lotte and started to eat. It was all delicious.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Akko looked up. It was Elma the Dragon. Akko thought it was strange that a member of the staff would want to sit with students, but then she noticed around the dining hall that a lot of students and teachers were sitting together. Holbrooke and Ursula were engaged in rapid discussion with a couple of older students, Finnelan was practically hovering around Diana like one of her groupies, and Makoto Kawata was being embarrassed by her sister the teacher.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," said Akko.

"Thank you," said Elma gratefully as she took a seat next to Jasminka. "The headmistress keeps me busy with maintaining the castle that I often lose track of time and arrive for dinner late. It's been so long since I've had a slice of chocolate cake." She added with a disheartened sigh. "But I'm being rude. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Elma, the Dragon of Order and Keeper of the Castle."

"I know who you are!" said Akko suddenly. "Tohru told me about you – you're Elma the Freeloader!"

"LIES!" screamed Elma, slamming his fist on the table. "That lousy Dragon of Chaos lives in a comfortable apartment in the better part of town passing herself off as a maid while I work myself to the bone keeping this castle in order and she has the nerve to call me a freeloader! If anything, she's the freeloader, not me!"

"Sooo…how'd you get a job taking care of the castle?" asked Amanda.

Elma suddenly looked down cast, folding her hands on her lap and fidgeting in her seat as she mumbled under her breath.

"I couldn't figure out how the computers worked at my last job and this was the only place hiring." None of the new Polaris students said a word, suddenly washed over with a sense of dread and awkwardness. "So – new students, am I right? I would prefer it if Twilight wins the house championship, but if you won too, I wouldn't mind. Anyone as long as it's not Eclipse. They've gotten the cup six years in a row! Every year, I get a letter from Tohru bragging about how her old house keeps winning. She's insufferable."

"That's Tohru, all right," said Akko.

"Life sucks," mumbled Elma pathetically.

When everyone had eaten everything on their plates, some of them went back to the table for seconds before they realized that everything on the concession tables was replaced by desserts. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, pies ranging from apple and peach to pumpkin and truffles, a fountain of flowing chocolate with skewers of pretzels, strawberries and marshmallows, Jell-O and pudding, and even sakuramochi…

As Akko helped herself to a slice of cherry pie, she heard talks from the other tables turn to families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Lin-Lin Chang. "My dad's a human. Mom didn't tell him she was a dragon until after they were married. Bit of nasty shock for him when he found out."

The others laughed.

"You never said anything about your family, Lotte," said Akko.

"Well, my granny brought me up and she's a witch," said Lotte. "My family has owned a magical item shop in Finland since the turn of the twentieth century. My parents…aren't really around much because of…reasons. It's mostly just been me and granny. I didn't have a lot of friends growing up because most Demi-Humans started leaving Findland to expand in into other nations like America and China and humans weren't really fond of Demi-Humans where I grew up in. But granny taught me a song that summons fairies from old, anguished objects and I used to play with them a lot when I was little. But now that I'm at Luna Nova, I guess I can make real friends now."

"We're already friends," Jasminka said simply, making Lotte smile shyly.

Akko turned her head to look at Diana's table catching her deep in conversation with Professor Finnelan ("I do hope we start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Alchemy, and, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult – "; "I could hardly be a challenge for someone of your level of excellence – ")

Akko, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up around the room again. Ursula was trying to pry a bottle of alcohol out of Holbrooke's hands, Makoto Kowata's sister had fallen dead asleep at her table, and leaning against the second floor railing with a cup in hand was a teacher with wavy lavender hair possessing a single lock draped over the left side of her face garbed with a high-collar cape and a pair of sunglasses.

It happened very suddenly. The lavender-haired teacher turned her head and looked directly at Akko – and a sharp, hot pain flared up and down Akko's spine where her scars were located, making Akko throw herself against the table with a painful grimace.

"Ouch!" Akko cried.

"Akko, what is it?" asked Lotte worriedly.

"N-nothing."

The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Akko had gotten from the teacher's look – a feeling that she knew her, but couldn't recall from where.

"Elma, who's that teacher on the second floor up top?" Akko asked her.

"Who?" Elma blinked curiously and followed Akko's line of sight to the lavender-haired woman. "Oh, her? That's Professor Croix. She teaches Modern Magic - the study of incorporating magic with technology. Though this year she's also working double shifts teach Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense since just up and quit a few months ago. She's really good at it herself. She knows a lot about the Dark Arts and how to combat them."

Akko watched Croix for a while, but Croix didn't look at her again.

At last, dessert was finished, and Professor Holbrooke stepped forward to the front of the dining room. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the Arcturus Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Ms. Elma, the Keeper of our beloved castle, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Chariot Race trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Professor Kiki – as long as she is not busy with her deliveries. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Akko laughed, but she was one of the few who did.

"She's not serious?" she muttered to Elma.

"I'm afraid she's deadly serious," said Elma, frowning. "The Arcturus Forest is one thing because it's filled with dangerous beasts, but Professor Holbrooke made it explicitly clear that no one is allowed in that corridor under any circumstances, including the teachers."

"Now, I do believe you are quite tired of hearing this old hag chattering on," said Holbrooke with a motherly smile. "Now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Polaris first years followed Professor Ursula through the chattering crowds, out of the dining room, and up the spiraling staircase. Akko's legs felt like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridor whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Ursula led them through hidden doorways behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Akko was just wondering how much further they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Ursula took a step forward toward them, they started throwing themselves at her.

"Mr. Mxyzptlk," Ursula whispered to the first years. "A rather annoying imp." She raised her voice. "Myxz – show yourself."

A loud, rude sound like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"If you don't behave, I will be forced to remove you."

There was a pop, and a little man with beady black eyes, an enormous bald head, and a tiny bowler hat appeared, floating in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"You know that's not how it works," he said; his voice sounded oddly like that American comedian Gilbert Gottfried. "You can't send me away unless you make me say it."

"Wait, what am I supposed to make you say?" asked Ursula innocently.

"Kltpzyxm," Mr. Mxyzptlk answered proudly, and soon realized his mistake. "Oh cr – "

With another pop, the little imp vanished into thin air, dropping the walking sticks on the floor.

"You'll want to watch out for Mr. Mxyzptlk," said Ursula, as they set off again. "You can only banish him by making him say his name backwards. It's easy enough to trick him once you understand him a little bit. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor was a solid brick wall coated with hundreds of tiny glass marbles that glowed with an ethereal green light, giving them the impression of stars in the dark hall.

"Pay close attention," said Ursula. "You need to know the proper sequence to get into the common room. It changes once a month, so be careful."

Akko paid very close attention as Ursula's hand moved slowly to tap five different marbles on seemingly random spaces on the wall. When the last marble was pressed, the wall parted down the middle and slid sideways to reveal a wrought-iron archway. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Polaris common room, a cozy round room full of squashy armchairs and a ceiling that perfectly depicted the night sky outside.

Ursula directed the girls through the door to their dormitory At the top of a spiral staircase – they were obviously in one of the towers – they found their beds at last: six four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up and Blair was curled up on one of the beds, which meant Akko knew where she was sleeping. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their sleepwear and fell into bed.

"So, did you have fun?" Blair asked Akko the moment she flopped into bed. "Was Luna Nova everything you expected?"

"A little, but not a lot," Akko answered honestly. "But it's only the first night. I bet there are loads more stuff to see."

Blair gave Akko a whiskered smile as she padded over and curled up next to Akko's stomach, setting a familiar comfort for the both of them.

Perhaps Akko had eaten a bit too much, because she had a very strange dream. She was in a dark space looking out through what appeared to be a window, but she was really looking out from inside a mirror, her other self telling her she must transfer to Eclipse at once, because it's her destiny. Akko told her other self she didn't want to be in Eclipse, but her other self walked away and joined the throng of Eclipse students, declaring that she would take Akko's place instead – and there was Diana, look down at her like she was something unmentionable – then Diana turned into the lavender-haired teacher Croix, whose laugh was barking and full of malicious intent – there was a flash of seven green lights and the echoing words in the distance - "Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!"

Akko woke with a start, sweating and shaking.

She rolled over and fell asleep again, and when she woke the next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.

* * *

 **Next Chapter: The Masters of Magic**


	8. The Masters of Magic

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Eight: The Masters of Magic**

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Between the two preppy girls."

"The blonde one?"

"Think she'd autograph my bag?"

"Ugh, I don't get why she's such a big deal," scoffed Amanda.

Akko couldn't help agreeing with her as they plus Lotte, Jasminka, and Constanze stood outside the classroom waiting for their next class to start. Almost everywhere they went, there was nothing but constant whispers of the "Great and Amazing Diana Cavendish" to a point where it actually started to grate Akko's nerves. Sometimes people would stand on their tiptoes to get a look at her, or double back to pass her again in the corridors, or even tried to sneak around for a glimpse at her despite having class on the opposite side of the castle. And the worst part was that Diana was constantly turning her nose up to everything like she was above it all. It really annoyed Akko the way everyone fawned over her, which only made it worse considering they _somehow_ ended up in every class together.

There were seven floors in Luna Nova and over a hundred and fifty hallways: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, moldy ones; some that led somewhere different on Friday; some with a vanishing floorboard halfway across that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Akko was sure the coats of armor could walk.

The fairies didn't help, either. Though they were cute and giggly, they always seemed to want to pull some kind of prank on the new students, and Akko had apparently become their new favorite. In only a handful of hours, she had been involved in a series of classic pranks including, but not limited to, buckets of ice water on top of doors, tying her shoe laces together when she walked down the stairs, and sticking "Kick Me" signs on her back without notice. The only bright spot was having Lotte Jansson as a friend. Whenever the fairies were up to their usual mischief, Lotte would always sing a soft lullaby that would appease the fairies and send them off to sleep. It was always amazing to listen to Lotte whenever she sang; she had a beautiful voice.

But even worse than the fairies, if that was even possible in Akko's opinion, was the imp from the fifth dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk, especially if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech "GOT YOUR NOSE!" Akko had overheard from Jasminka that Mr. Mxyzptlk once had incredible reality-changing powers, but most of it had been taken away when he was tricked into a magical contract by a previous headmistress. Akko wasn't complaining; she'd rather not imagine what life would be like if Mxyz transformed her into a goldfish.

Elma the Keeper of the Castle was always happy to point new students in the right direction, but if you ever got on her bad side, you had best pray to whatever gods you worship. Akko, Amanda, and Constanze had managed to invoke Elma's wrath when she found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. She had all three of them pinned to the wall by her trident when she caught them. She was almost certain that they were trying to break into it on purpose and Amanda sideways commentary about breaking in if she really wanted to didn't help much. Elma was threatening to throw them in the dungeon ("They have a dungeon!" yelped Akko) when they were rescued by Ursula, who was passing.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Akko quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Basic Herbalism, with a mysterious pink-haired witch called Cosmos, who Diana claimed to have once been a member of the Garou Knights and greatly respected her. Professor Cosmos would teach them how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and detail which part was used for which effect; sometimes a cure for poison, or even an aid to induce sleep. Akko thought she was kind of cool, but he really wished she wouldn't cuddle with the giant toothy plant that was eyeing her like a snack.

After that, they went down into the castle basement to learn Fundamentals of Magic Pharmaceutics from Hex, who was apparently the only male out of the entire Luna Nova staff. Akko thought Hex was creepy right from the get-go. His voodoo shaman dress and his skeleton face tattoo was reason enough for almost every student to run for a seat in the back. It made sense that creepy Sucy Manbavaran would sit herself in the front row, looking to Hex with admiration as she eagerly wrote down the various potions and poisons he had made over the years.

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic – or that's at least what Akko thought until she actually attended the first class. The class was taught by a tall and lanky woman named Ymir Lenz, who an expression of perpetual boredom even as she droned about the course work they would be doing for the year, including some of the bloodiest moments in history like the Salem Witch Trials and the witch's involvement in the first World War. It all sounded fascinating and the way Professor Ymir talked about them with such familiarity was almost like she had been there. But that was impossible…right?

Akane Kowata, Makoto Kowata's older sister, was the Charms teacher and not a very attentive one based on their first class together. When Akko and the others had arrived for their lesson, they had found Professor Akane lying on her belly with her feet swinging in the air in homely clothes surrounded by empty snack bags and reading manga. Makoto openly complained to her sister about "getting her act together" and they spent the first half of class watching the sisters squabble.

Fundamental Alchemy had been another terrible experience all together. Akko had been quite right to think that Professor Finnelan wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Alchemy is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Luna Nova," she barked. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a majestic stallion and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. Of course, Diana Cavendish had got it on her very first try while Akko struggled to so much as change the color. Professor Finnelan showed the class how well Diana had done and was showering her with compliments; Diana just looked bored as ever.

Akko knew from the first few minutes of Magic Astrology that it would quickly become her favorite class. For one thing, Professor Ursula was kind and courteous to everyone and didn't show blatant favoritism towards Diana like most of the teachers. And whenever Akko struggled to understand something and felt drastically behind the others, Ursula would take notice and actually pause in the middle of her lecture to help explain it in a way that Akko could better understand it. Together, they learned about the movements of the celestial bodies that could be used to predict the future, how the different lunar phases could boost or hinder magical talent, and would go over the many myths and legends behind the origins of planets and constellations. By the end of their first class, Akko actually felt like she had done just as well in the subject as Diana, if not better judging by the way Diana leered at her out of the corner of her eyes.

Akko was very relieved to find out that she wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from normal families and, like her, hadn't had any idea that they were Demi-Humans. There was so much to learn that even people like Lotte didn't have much of a head start.

Friday was an important day for Akko and her friends. They finally managed to find their way down to the dining room for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What've we got today?" Akko asked Lotte as she poured sugar on her tower of donuts.

"Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense with Professor Croix," said Lotte.

"You hear the rumors about her?" said Amanda as she, Constanze, and Jasminka took a seat opposite them. "Word's going around that she uses some super futuristic magic. Constanze has been dying to check her out," she added as Constanze nodded eagerly.

"My friend from cooking club she's super nice and doesn't give out homework on the first day," said Jasminka from behind her leaning tower of waffles.

"Wish Finnelan wouldn't give us so much homework," groaned Akko. It was clear as day since the their first lesson that Finnelan didn't hold the Polaris House in high regard, and she especially didn't like Akko after she accidentally sent her needle flying across the room and nearly took out her eye.

" **MAIL CALL!** "

Everyone in the dining room suddenly perked up and turned their heads to the ceiling. Akko had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when half a dozen students had suddenly zoomed in on broomsticks, zipping between the tables and dropping off various letters and packages to their respective owners with amazing efficiency. And then they zipped out of the room just as fast as they came in.

Akko had received at least one letter from her parents asking her how things were going and if she was eating properly and making sure she wasn't causing problems for the teachers (she would have felt insulted by this if it weren't true). She was considering what to write back to her parents when Blair suddenly came around and hopped on to their table somehow carrying a mug of piping hot coffee with her curly tail.

"Blair, what're you doing here?" asked Akko curiously.

"I just wanted to let you know that Ursula invited me for tea this afternoon," said Blair, pausing for a moment to take a sip of her coffee. "I know you get the afternoons off, so I was thinking maybe you'd like to join us. Ursula, at the very least, would enjoy your company, and I want to hear all about your first week at school. You could invite your friends, if you want."

"That sounds great!" said Akko excitedly, looking to her friends. "What do you say, guys?"

"Can't," said Amanda, holding her hand up. "Constanze wants to try out her newest gadget after class and I promised I'd be the guinea pig."

Constanze gave a thumbs-up to confirm her statement.

"I have cooking club this afternoon," said Jasminka apologetically.

"Well, I'm free this afternoon," said Lotte. "We could go together."

"Great!" Akko cheered.

"All right, then we'll see you in Ursula's room at three," said Blair. "It's at the top floor of the Observation Tower. Try not to get detention before then."

With the thought of afternoon tea with Blair and her favorite teacher, Akko collected all of her things when the bell rang for their next class.

Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense had turned out to be a class that Akko would never have expected. It had seem that the rumors of Professor's use of futuristic technology towards magic were definitely true as Akko looked around the classroom. The walls on either side were obscured by the rows of computer towers humming with energy, thousands of wires cluttered the ceiling connecting to the giant monitor in the front, and little Roomba-like devices were skirting around at everyone's feet. The metal tables that served as their desks had tablets built into them – Akko tentatively tapped the face and a holographic screen popped up. All of the students were in awe – except, of course, Diana, who looked at the modern appliances as if they had insulted her.

Croix, like Finnelan, started the class by taking roll call with her smartphone, and like Finnelan, she paused at Diana's name.

"Well, well, well," she said with a hint of a smirk. "Diana Cavendish. Our new – _celebrity._ Pardon me if I don't curtsy, princess."

Akko and Amanda snickered behind their hands, Lotte looked gobsmacked at their teacher's blatant barb, and Jasminka and Constanze were busy with their own things. Diana, for her part, didn't seem too bothered by it, but Hannah and Barbara were seething behind her. Croix continued down the list again and made a noticeable pause when she reached Akko's name, but she made no comment and moved on. When she finished, she pocketed her smart phone and whipped off her sunglasses with a dramatic flair, looking up at her class.

"Welcome to Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense," she began with hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face. She had this kind of charisma that seemed to draw everyone in while at the same time keeping a small sense of authority that told them she was the boss in this classroom. "What you have to understand is that when this class was made, Demi-Humans were still in the middle of persecution against normal humans and they created this subject with the idea of teachings Demi-Humans to protect themselves with magic. Being different was considered a sin – I guess the same still applies in other parts of the world like America. But in modern times, the need for self-defense lessons has become minimalistic at best, especially with the Eclipse Queen dead."

"But you still intend to train us, do you not?" asked Diana, almost sounding like she was challenging her.

Croix leaned back against her desk with her right brow raised and the edges of her lips curved upwards.

"Yes, yes, I'll teach you everything you have to know for your exams," said Croix, waving her hand nonchalantly. "But the thing you need to take away from this is that magical self-defense isn't entirely necessary, not when you can rely on good old wits and ingenuity. I've found in recent years that you can get out of a lot of tough situations without using magic as a first resort….But you don't have to take my word for it. I always feel that actions speak louder than words. A demonstration!"

Croix whipped out her smart phone again and tapped a button. Suddenly, her desk disappeared into a hidden hole in the floor, creating a wide open space in the front of the classroom.

"Now I just need a volunteer," said Croix. "How 'bout you, Princess? You look like you're raring to go."

Diana's eyes were narrowed in a way that gave Akko the impression that they might start shooting lightning at any moment. The pretty blonde walked around the desks and slowly marched to the front until she was standing opposite of Croix. Student and Teacher bowed respectfully for a moment before Diana whipped out her wand and Croix still had her smartphone in hand.

"Whenever you're ready, princess," said Croix calmly.

But Diana didn't attack right away, choosing to stay on the side of caution. She slowly started to walk sideways with her wand pointed at Croix's chest while the professor casually strolled in the opposite direction, her finger flipping through the hundreds of apps on her phone. Croix wasn't even taking this seriously, even Akko could tell that much. After moving around the floor in a full circle, Croix attention was fully focused on her phone like a Facebook addict and presented her back to Diana. Diana scowled at her teacher's lack of attentiveness and swiped her wands through the air.

" ** _Murowa –_** "

But just as Diana started to cast her spell, Akko noticed Croix's hidden smirk as she pressed her thumb on her smartphone. A burst of green energy exploded from the tip of Diana's wand and shot right at Croix's back when one of the roaming roombas suddenly jumped up and intercepted the blast. A miniaturized explosion started to build in the middle of the classroom when it was suddenly sucked inwards and seemingly devoured by the Roomba, which appeared to be unscratched by the spell. Diana lowered her arm, gaping in shock.

Croix let out a small chuckle as she looked pointedly at Diana over her shoulder and held up her smartphone in clear view before tapping it with her thumb. The Roomba turned its body up to Diana, exposing its fan, and suddenly blew out a huge gust of wind that sent papers flying everywhere and the students to clinging to their desktops. Diana raised her arms in a vain struggle against the gale forces, but was soon lifted off of her feet, thrown to the opposite end of the room, and landed in the corner with a loud crash. Akko and nearly everyone in class was doubled over in laughter as Diana sat up with a waste basket on her head. It was official – Akko LOVED this class.

"You okay, princess," asked Croix as Hannah and Barbara ran down to pick up their friend. "I didn't mean for it to go that hard – these things are still a little temperamental."

"Diana, are you hurt?" Hannah asked with concern.

"Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" said Barbara frantically.

"I'm fine," said Diana rather forcefully as she straightened herself up. Her eyes narrowed on Croix before they moved over to the flying Roomba. "What in the name of the Nine Olde Witches is that contraption?"

"Oh, this?" said Croix, gesturing to the Roomba over her shoulder. "That's one of my Sorcery Units. It's a little something I've been tinkering with in my spare time over the last eleven years – this is actually one of the first successful prototypes. I created them through a technique called Magitronics."

Constanze's hand suddenly shot up in the row in front of Akko's, resulting it her being smacked in the face by the shorter classmate.

"Professor, Constabze wants to know what Magitronics is," Amanda somehow translated Constanze's silent language.

"Well, that's a little complicated and way above my pay grade, if you ask me," said Croix. "To make a long story short, it's technology that is built to compensate for magic one may or may not have. It's still only in the testing phase, but when it's finished, Demi-Human's who lack in magical talent will be able to use magic with these beauties."

"Magic is a sacred art steeped in tradition," said Diana, sounding unnaturally defiant as opposed to her calm and collected self. "You can't just hand out magic to just anyone. There would be irreparable consequences – "

"God, you sound just like Finnelan," groaned Croix, throwing her head back. "Just take a seat, Princess."

Diana bristled and looked like she wanted to say something, but she bite her tongue and stomped back up the rows, taking her seat with a huff. Akko couldn't help smiling behind her book; looks like the mighty Diana Cavendish got knocked down a few pegs.

After Diana's demonstration, Croix had everyone come up to the front of the class for a one-on-one practice session so that she could have a better idea of what areas she needed to teach. The results had been very similar to Diana's. Whenever a student performed a spell against the professor, her Sorcery Unit would come to her aid, absorb the magic, and send them flying. The only people who seemed to have any remote success against the professor was Constanze, who's own version of techno-magic had locked in a stalemate, and Jasminka, whose expanding candy magic had caught Croix by surprise and was nearly buried in an avalanche of confections. They had both received passing grades for the day while everyone else was given homework. And when it came time for Akko's turn, she had tried to cast a spell on the teacher but instead gave herself donkey ears and a tail. Croix laughed with the rest of the class and Akko, miffed at being teased, headbutted Croix in the stomach.

"Oh wow, that actually hurt," said Croix humorously, rubbing the spot where Akko hit. "Not exactly magical, but distracting an enemy by making him laugh his guts out is certainly one way to go. Well done, you get a passing grade for the day."

"Awesome!" cheered Akko, throwing his fists into the air. "But can you do something about the ears and the tail?"

"Well, I think that's just about everyone," said Croix, clapping her hands and ignoring Akko's plea. "This little demonstration has given me some proper insight on what I need to teach. Some of you are have already gone above my expectations – yes, I'm referring to you, Princess – and some of you could do with a little more…well, everything. And since you all worked hard today, I think I'll give one point for each student that participated and five points to Akko, Constanze, and Jasminka each for their fine work today. Class dismissed!"

"Hey, wait, what about my ears!" Akko cried, but Croix was already out the door.

Akko and Lotte left the classroom a few minutes after everyone else so that the latter could mercifully remove the spell that Akko had put on herself. Akko's mind was racing and her spirits were soaring. Being in Croix's class was a whole new experience for Akko, especially when the teacher praised her instead of little Miss Perfect Cavendish.

"And her Magitronics are so cool," Akko babbled endlessly to Lotte. "Do you think she'd let me borrow one if I ask nicely."

"I'm not really sure about those things myself, Akko," said Lotte hesitantly. "Magic has always been something of a traditional method that took years of hard work and study. If her machines really work, then that would mean everyone would be able to use magic. And if everyone can use magic, then would that make witches and school like Luna Nova obsolete?"

"Eh, you worry too much," said Akko flippantly. "C'mon, it's almost time to meet up with Blair and Professor Ursula."

At five to three they made their way to the opposite end of the castle and climbed to the top of the Observation Tower. When Akko knocked on the door they heard a soft squeak and a loud clatter of breaking glass as Blair's voice rang out, saying, "How can you be so skittish, Ursula?"

Ursula's kind, bespectacled face appeared in the crack as she pulled the door open.

"Oh, hello," she said timidly. "Uh, please come in. Pardon the mess."

She let them in, and Akko had the terrible luck of stepping in the puddle of tea on the floor the moment she walked through the threshold, slipping and falling on her back. She could hear Blair's catty laughter from across the room.

Lotte helped her back up and the both of them looked around. The room was very small and divided into two levels that had a large telescope looking out through the circular window with a golden gyroscope spinning next to it, a large jar of water next to the cramped bookshelf, and her desk was cluttered with all sorts of textbooks and loose papers. Above her desk were a dozen hanged photos and unusual graphs including a diagram of a seal with seven leaves. There was a bronze perch in the other corner of the room, upon which was an old and withered-looking white crow that had a faded four-point yellow star on his chest. There was something oddly familiar about that bird to Akko.

"That's Alcor," Ursula answered Akko's unasked question when she noticed her staring at the old crow. "He's my familiar. We've been together since about the time I was your age. Unfortunately, he's not as young as he used to be. He was quite lovely in his prime."

"I'll bet," said Akko, taking a seat with Lotte and Blair as Ursula started pouring a new cup of tea and prepared a plate of biscuits. "Oh, this is my friend, Lotte Jansson."

"Yes, Charlotte Jansson's daughter, I remember," said Ursula kindly. "She was five years ahead of us when we first entered Luna Nova. A very admirable woman, she was. I bet you'll be just as brilliant."

Lotte blushed embarrassingly as she slurped her cup, only to realize that Ursula hadn't poured the tea yet. Akko and Lotte spent nearly a quarter of an hour telling them about their first lessons and how Akko thought Hex was creepy, or if Cosmos had a fetish towards killer plants, or whether or not Ymir was a thousand years old. But in almost every subject, her number one complaint was Diana Cavendish, the haughty show-off that was blessed with the beauty of a goddess (Akko kept that last part to herself).

"Not surprised, really," said Blair, leaning back in her chair and throwing one leg over the other. "Bernadette was one of the brightest witches of our age, so it comes as no surprise that her daughter would be a nerdy genius, too. Which is why I can't figure out how she ended up with an idiot like Athena."

"Athena wasn't an idiot," said Ursula, chastising her. "As I recall, she did better than you on both the S.T.A.R.s and the M.O.M.s"

"Who's Athena?" asked Lotte curiously.

"Athena Metis-Cavendish - Bernadette's wife and one of Diana's mother," said Ursula.

She walked over to her desk and pulled one of the small picture frames off the wall. She held the photo up and Akko and Lotte leaned in close for a better look. There were five girls in the frame, all of them wearing the colors of each of the five Luna Nova Houses. The was a teenage Blair wearing the Twilight yellow colors with her arm around a younger girl with short red hair in the Corona orange colors. On the opposite end was blonde teenager that bared a striking resemblance to Diana dressed in Lunar blue colors standing calmly side-by-side with a lavender-haired woman in glasses dressed in Eclipse purple colors. And in the middle of the photo with her hands thrown up in mid-cheer, dressed in Polaris red colors and her shaggy-red hair flying everywhere, was –

"That's Shiny Chariot!" shouted Akko excitedly, jumping out of her seat and nearly knocking over the teapot. "Look, Lotte, it's Shiny Chariot!"

"I can see that, Akko, please calm down," Lotte requested nervously.

"I'm in there too, ya know," said Blair pointedly, but looked at the photo with a soft reminiscent look. "God damn, it's been forever since I've seen that picture. That was taken when we were in our fifth year just after we got done with our tests – I think Izetta was in her third year at the time, too. See that blonde girl at the end – that's Athena Metis-Cavendish. She was always the best when it came to mental magic - telekinesis, memory manipulation, mind reading - that sort of thing. I heard she's a famous psychologist these days."

"Shiny Chariot was friends with Diana's mom?" said Akko surprisingly. "Then why does Diana keep saying Shiny Chariot is a fraud."

"I think it has more to do with peer pressure than anything else," said Ursula, looking sadly at her tea. "When you come from a famous family like the Cavendish's you are expected to act a certain way. Chariot wasn't particularly liked by the older families - Diana must have felt she needed to hate Chariot like everyone else."

"Well, that's just stupid," Akko huffed and crossed her arms.

"You wouldn't understand, kid," said Blair lightly.

"Wait a minute, professor," said Lotte, staring at the photo more closely. "How come you're not in this picture?"

"Um – uh – t-that's because – " Ursula stuttered incoherently.

"She had to take the picture!" Blair jumped in quickly. "We didn't have selfies back then, so we had to make do with one person taking a picture for everyone."

"Oh, that makes sense," said Lotte, not noticing Blair and Ursula's relieved sighs. "This woman standing next to Diana's mom…that's Professor Croix, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's her – the bitch," said Blair in a dangerously low voice.

"Blair!" snapped Ursula.

"You don't like Professor Croix?" Akko asked Blair surprisingly. "Why not? I think she's really cool."

"That's because you don't know her like we do," said Blair with obvious loathing in her tone.

"Blair, that's quite enough," said Ursula. "We're not going to get into this argument again. We have guests. So can we please talk about something else?"

"Um, okay," said Akko, blinking between the two. "So…who's the last girl in the picture? She looks a lot younger than the rest of you."

There was a suddenly pause between the witches. Ursula and Blair exchanged looks in uncomfortable silence before looking away, tilting their hats to conceal their eyes.

"That's Izetta," Ursula finally spoke up. "We don't talk about her anymore."

It sounded like they had reached a very heavy topic and Akko didn't feel like treading through that proverbial minefield. As she looked around for something else to talk about, Akko noticed a piece of paper that was lying on Ursula's desk just out of her vision underneath an inkwell. Akko craned her head for a better look. It was a cutting from a newspaper:

 **DEPARTMENT OF DEMI-HUMANS BREAK-IN LATEST**

Investigations continue into the break-in at the  
Department of Demi-Humans on July 31st, widely  
believed to be the work of dark magic unknown.

Department workers today insisted that nothing  
had been taken. The vault that was searched had  
in fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so  
keep your noses out if you know what's good for you,"  
said a Department spokesperson this afternoon.

Akko remembered Amanda telling her on the train that someone had tried to rob the Department of Demi-Humans, but Amanda hadn't mentioned the date.

"Blair!" said Akko, making Lotte and Ursula squeak simultaneously, "that vault break-in happened when we went to London! It might've been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt about it, neither Blair nor Ursula were meeting Akko's eyes this time. Ursula made a noncommittal noise and started pouring another cup of tea. Akko read the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._ Ursula had emptied vault one-nine-one when they went to get Akko's Demi-Human license and had taken a long, thin package with her. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

Blair stayed behind with Ursula for reasons unknown while Akko and Lotte had been sent off to the dining hall for dinner. Akko thought that none of the lessons this week had so far given her as much to think about as tea with Ursula. Had Ursula collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did either of them know something that they didn't want to tell Akko?

* * *

 **In canon, when it comes to actually using magic, Akko is by far the worst student in school (though it is explained why later on, but for the sake of keeping her close to her original character, she still sucks here). But when it comes to knowing about magic, Akko is almost more knowledgeable than Diana. She can remember various spells, creatures, and magical artifacts and locations based solely on her knowledge of Shiny Chariot Cards, where as other people are clueless, including Diana (see episode 2). This implies that Akko can be very smart as long as the subject interests her, which is why I chose to make Akko excel in literary subjects while still sucking at the practical ones.**

 **Next Chapter: The Shooting Star**


	9. The Shooting Star

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Nine: The Shooting Star**

As if Akko hadn't had enough of Miss Perfect Diana Cavendish being an insufferable overachiever in every class over the past couple of weeks, now she had to deal with the pretty blonde showing her up again in the one course Akko had been looking forward to. She had got up that morning in high spirits when they spotted a notice pinned up in the Polaris common room that made Akko groan. Broom Flying classes would be starting on Thursday – and Polaris was learning with the Lunar and Eclipse students.

"Typical," said Akko darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To have the teachers tell me how dumb I am compared to Diana."

She had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

"You don't know that Diana will be any better at flying than you," said Lotte optimistically. "If anything, it's Amanda that will probably be at the top of the class. If half the stuff she says is true, she's bound to be amazing."

It was true. In the week following up to Broom Flying lessons, Amanda had taken every opportunity she could to tell everyone of her amazing feats growing up in New York City that usually consist of her swinging around the Chrysler Building. She wasn't the only one, though: Nanoha Takamachi had been flying since she was nine years old and even demonstrated her unique magic for unsupported flight. Makoto Kowata had spent her childhood zooming around the country side, even had a cute little nickname "The Flying Witch". Everyone from magical families talked about Chariot Races constantly. Even Lotte admitted to be at least decent when it came to riding a broom, but she only ever did so with the help of the fairies she summoned with her songs. Akko couldn't place blame on her – she would gladly accept any help she could get.

Akko wasn't the only one who seemed to lack confidence in her flying skills. When they were leaving Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense last Friday, she overheard Amanda translating for Constanze asking Croix to help modify her broom with mechanical upgrades. Croix had been ecstatic of advancing flight engineering and the two of them had disappeared into Croix's laboratory for the whole weekend.

But one of the downsides in the week following up to their lessons was having a twisted and morbid person like Sucy Manbavaran for a roommate. Whenever they happened to be in the same room whether it was the dormitories or the dining hall, Sucy would "enlighten" them with some of the more grisly details of broom riding accidents. On the morning of the Broom Flying lessons, Sucy had purposely sat closer to Akko and her friends and told them off a witch who had accidentally smacked into a Cliffside, breaking nearly every bone in their body, and hinted that she had crumpled in front of a den of black bears. No one felt particularly hungry after that.

Akko and Lotte decided to head back to the dormitory to ease their stomachs when they spotted something unusual in the foyer. Amanda was coming down the stairs from the second floor, dragging a large, heavy-looking silver suitcase, smacking the corners against each step. When she reached the first floor landing, the suitcase seemed to rattle on its own and Amanda threw herself over it to keep the case steady.

"Stop wiggling so much you stupid thing!" Amanda hissed. "We're almost out of the castle! Once we're outside, I have to drag you off to the field, so why do you make it easy on both of us and – "

"Amanda?" Lotte called to her. Amanda jumped and flipped around, throwing her arms up in an ineffective attempt to conceal the case. "What do you have there?"

"Uh – it's nothing!" said Amanda quickly, chuckling nervously like she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. "Just, you know, helping Elma move some junk out of her office. No big deal."

"You're helping Elma clean her office?" asked Akko with a raised brow. "Voluntarily?"

"I didn't really volunteer," said Amanda. "She caught me throwing water balloons off the roof on top of student's head, so she's making me clean her office as punishment."

"Well, that makes sense," said Lotte understandingly.

"Yeah, well, better go dump this thing off before Elma chews me out for being lazy," said Amanda as she dragged the suitcase down the staircase. "I'll see you both at Broom Flying lessons. Trust me, you're not gonna want to miss it."

* * *

At three-thirty that afternoon, Akko, Lotte, and the other Polaris students hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawn toward a smooth, flat field on the opposite side of the grounds to the Arcturus Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Lunar and the Eclipse students were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in a neat line on the ground. Akko heard Amanda complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Their teacher, Professor Kiki, arrived. She had short, brunette hair, and a bright red ribbon tied into a bow.

"All right, everyone it's time to start the lesson," she told them. "I've set out a few brooms for you to try out, so please take one and stand at least five feet from one another."

Akko picked up her broom with a grimace. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Flight magic is one of the most basic of essentials in a witch's training, but it is also the most freeing." said Professor Kiki from the front. "The ability to fly is one of the witch's greatest gifts – there are even some who excel in this type of magic that they can attain flight without the use of a broom." She looked directly to Nanoha at that. "But make no mistake, flying is very dangerous, so be careful.

"First, firmly grip your broom. Then, pay your respects to your broom. Now, straddle your broom"

Professor Kiki went through each step demonstrating the proper form and showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end. She walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. She did a double take when she saw Constanze bringing out her own customized broom, which had been equipped with a propeller around the back and a game pad at the front. Professor Kiki opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and walked away, shaking her head.

"Now, imagine yourself taking to the sky, cast the spell, and kick off the ground, hard," said Professor Kiki. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two – one – "

Professor Kiki blew the whistle and all the students said the spell as a chorus ( **"** _ **Tia Freyre!**_ **"** ) and kicked off the ground. Naturally, Diana and Amanda were the first ones off the ground and rose higher than the rest of class who hovered only by a few feet. Jasminka was performing a perfect sidesaddle while Constanze's customized broom kept her aloft and Lotte's broom glowed with the light of fairies as she whispered her song. And, of course, Nanoha was the only one flying unsupported by a broom.

But as for Akko….

"Come on," Akko yelled in frustration; she hadn't left the ground. " _ **Tia Freyre! Tia Freyre! TIA FREYRE!"**_

"You need to focus more," said Professor Kiki understandingly. "Funnel your magic into your broom and give it life."

"I'm trying!" cried Akko, who now resorted to hopping around trying to get the broom to lift. " _ **Tia Freyre! Tia Freyre!**_ "

"You'd have no problem winning a shouting match," said Sucy offhandedly.

"I've never seen anyone with such a lack of skill before," said Professor Kiki without realizing it. "That's certainly impressive in its own way."

"Aw, poor widdle Akko can't ride a broom," Hannah taunted in a babyish voice.

"Professor, you should put on some training wheels so she can at least ride a broom," Barbara added.

Nearly half the class joined them in laughing at Akko, who felt red with embarrassment and leaned forward so that her hat could cover her face. And then suddenly, Amanda swooped in from above and kicked Hannah off sideways, then twirled around to smack Barbara across the face with the brush of her broom to throw her off as well. Both of them landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. Amanda looked like she wanted to do more, but Diana flew in between them to cut her off.

"That's quite enough out of you," said Diana haughtily. "Please refrain from embarrassing yourself and this school any further."

"Then how about you tell your groupies to leave my friend alone, princess!" snapped Amanda.

"Hey, who do you think you are?" yelled Hannah angrily.

"Teach the delinquent a lesson, Diana!" shouted Barbara.

"That's quite enough out of the two of you," Diana scolded them calmly, making Hannah and Barbara tense up. "While I do not approve of O'Neil's actions, I cannot condone your lowly bullying either. I expected better from the both of you."

"We're sorry!" Hannah and Barbara cried, falling on their knees with their hands folded. "Please forgive us!"

"Whipped," muttered Amanda.

"All right, all right, that's enough, everyone," Professor Kiki finally cut in, clapping her hands to call attention. "This is a Broom Flying lesson, not a – "

A cellphone ringtone decided to go off at that exact moment. It took a few second for the professor to realize that it was her cellphone that was ringing.

"Hello, Kiki's Delivery Service," Professor Kiki answered her phone despite being in the middle of class. "Hello, sir, how may I – well, I'm sorry if – no, I just haven't delivered it yet – Yes, I know you paid for overnight shipping – it doesn't have to be there until the end of – okay, now there's no need to be rude, I - you leave my mother out of this!"

She put her hand over the receiver – the customer was going on a very loud rant – and turned back to her class.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take care of this," Professor Kiki apologized. "I want everyone back on the ground and wait for me while I handle this customer. I don't want to see a single broom – or you, Miss Takamachi – in the air until I return or you'll be out of Luna Nova before you can say 'flibbertigibbet'. Hello, I'm back, sir – "

Professor Kiki marched back up to the castle, shouting back into her cell phone and waving her arm in exaggerated motions.

No sooner was she out of earshot than Amanda shouted out:

"Finally! I thought she'd never leave! Now's my chance to really stretch my wings!"

Amanda darted sideways towards a shrub, reached inside, and pulled out the silver suitcase she had been dragging inside the castle. The other students gathered around curiously as she undid the latches on the case and flew it wide open to reveal –

"Is that the Shooting star?" Lotte gasped.

Indeed, it was the shooting Star – the rogue broom that Elma had worked hard to pin down on their first night at Luna Nova.

"You _stole_ the Shooting Star from Elma's office," said Akko, both terrified and impressed.

"I wouldn't say I stole it," said Amanda slyly as she unchained the broom. "I'm just borrowing it without asking for permission. There's a difference, you know."

"Do not even _think_ about riding that broom!" said Diana with a tone of authority. "That broom is too dangerous to be ridden by a student, and besides, Professor Kiki told us not to move. I'm not going to let you get the rest of us in trouble because you want a cheap thrill."

"Oh, believe me, princess, this isn't cheap," said Amanda, straddling the broom. "And I'd like to see you stop me. _**Tia Freyre!**_ "

The broom did not take off. Amanda blinked owlishly. She hopped up in the air once, but dropped back down on her feet.

"Okay, what's the deal with this thing?" asked Amanda, scowling. "Did it run out of batteries or something?"

"Maybe it's hungry?" Jasminka suggested.

"Whatever the case may be," said Diana strongly, "you should get off that broom before you – "

Then, without warning, Amanda suddenly lurched forward and launched into the sky in a blur of motion, unintentionally smacking into Diana and knocking her on the ground. While Hannah and Barbara panicked and helped their leader back up, the other students looked up at Amanda. She was zipping back and forth through the air like a ping pong ball in the middle of an intense match, but the panicked screaming that echoed through the grounds showed that she was not in control.

The Shooting Star flew towards the Arcturus Forest where it purposely speared through the thickest branches, smacking and scratched Amanda repeatedly until she fell over sideways. Amanda's hand shot up at the last moment and wrapped her fingers around the broom's neck, barely holding on for dear life. The Shooting Star then shot across the lawn like a bullet leaving a gun and headed straight towards the castle. A moment of fear welled up in everyone's heart when the rogue broom started flying at the solid brick wall of the castle's fourth floor, but Amanda released her grip at the last second. The broom bounced off the wall and Amanda dropped to a ledge on the third floor, holding the edge with an iron grip.

Amanda tried to pull herself up when she looked over her shoulder and saw the Shooting Star flying towards her with its pointed head aimed at her back like a javelin. Before the strike could connect, however, a fireball suddenly flew out between them, stopping the Shooting Star in its tracks. The rogue turned its arrowhead toward Diana, who hovered on her broom a short distance away with her wand alight with magical power.

"That is quite enough!" shouted Diana. "Cease and desist immediately, broom, or I will be forced to take hostile action!"

The Shooting Star brushed off the treat and made a beeline for Diana, who turned on her broom and shot towards the opposite end of the grounds.

Amanda's fingers were starting to cramp up and feared that she would lose her grip any second when the nearby window flew open and Akko's head popped out from inside.

"Akko?" said Amanda surprisingly. "How'd you get up here so fast?"

"Diana gave me a lift," answered Akko. "She told me to get your inside while she distracted it."

"Great, now I owe that princess," grumbled Amanda.

"Just take my hand!" said Akko, rolling her eyes at Amanda's moodiness.

Akko grabbed her hand and pulled Amanda through the window to safety when Diana's voice cut through the air.

"Akko, it's coming back!"

Akko spun around and spotted the Shooting Star through the open window seconds before it tackled her in stomach and carried her down the corridor, leaving Amanda far behind. Akko only barely avoided being speared by the broom's head and wrapped her arms and legs around the Shooting Star's underside to stop herself from falling off.

They shot through the halls, narrowly running over groups of students and teachers. Professor Finnelan, who was coming out of the alchemy classroom with a stack of papers, heard Akko's yells, tossed the papers, and threw herself back inside before they could collide. They flew down the stairs to the foyer and smashed through the doors to the dining room, plowing through tables of students who were having their lunch hour, and splattered bits of food in every direction, before shooting back out the doors. They even encountered Professor Holbrooke on the fifth floor as she was coming back from her office. She spotted Akko and the Shooting Star zooming down the fall, but instead of stopping them like Akko knew she could, Professor Holbrooke sidestepped and let them go by, adjusting her glasses, and carried on her merry way.

This pattern had repeated itself for a full five minutes and the Shooting Star was quickly running out of places to go. It wasn't going to be long before the rogue broom stopped messing around and actually hurt someone, Akko realized. Mustering all the strength in her body, Akko pulled herself around until she was straddling the broom's body, using the braces on its neck and bristles like handles. The Shooting Star turned its head around, almost like it was glaring at Akko.

"You need to stop right now!" Akko yelled at the broom. "This isn't funny! Someone's going to get hurt!"

But the Shooting Star did not care. It altered its flight pattern and was now purposely running into objects like suits of armor and shelves of books in an attempt to knock Akko off. But even when they plowed into the bathroom and smashed through the stalls, Akko did not release her grip. If anything, she was holding on tighter than before.

"You can flail around all you like!" yelled Akko, sounding almost maniacal when she said it. "But there's no way I'm getting off until you learn to chill out!"

The Shooting Star accepted the challenge. As they flew down the fifth floor corridor, it suddenly shot through the window and pivoted upwards into the sky. Akko looked over her shoulder and could see the castle becoming smaller and smaller as they climbed; her finger dug into the braces. They breached through the clouds and the Shooting Star still kept climbing until –

 _ **CREAK!**_

Akko gasped; a layer of frost was forming on the braces. The combination of pressure and temperature was making the braces brittle. Akko reached for the wand in her pocket when the braces crumbled in her hands like dust.

She was falling to her death – Akko knew this to be certain – but her attention was not on the approaching ground below, but the Shooting Star that soared above. With its braces no longer holding it back, the Shooting Star's bristles morphed and stretched like the wings of a majestic bird glimmering in the light of the sun. It was like watching an angel in flight….

"AKKO!"

Diana's fear-filled screams broke Akko out of her stupor, causing her to look up (or down, as the case may be) and realize that the ground was getting very, very close. Akko naturally started wailing and flailing. She could see Diana zooming in on her broom to intercept, but Akko was falling too fast for her to make it in time. She was fifty feet above the ground…thirty…twenty…ten…five – Akko had a vivid thought about those old Road Runner cartoons and wondered if the same concept applied to a magic school.

But before there was an Akko-shaped hole in the lawn, something swooped in from underneath and snatched her up, gliding in low so that her toes touched the grass, and gently toppled over. She heard the thunder of many footsteps and the faces of her classmates circling around her – some in concern, some in awe, and others in amusement – but she could only see her savior that floated above her. The Shooting Star had come back. It saved her. The rogue broom hovered loftily above Akko, its arrowhead looking down at her, and then, very slowly, the broom floated down into Akko's hands and became motionless.

"ATSUKO KAGARI!"

Akko shot up, clutching Shooting Star close to her chest, her heart sinking faster than her freefall. Professor Finnelan was running toward them, her lips thinner than anything Akko had ever seen. She got to her feet, trembling.

" _Never –_ in all my time at Luna Nova – "

Professor Finnelan was almost speechless with shock, and her eyes narrowed furiously, " – how _dare_ you – might have killed some – irresponsible girl – "

"It was my fault, professor – "

"Be quiet, Miss O'Neill – "

"But Professor – "

"That's _enough_ , Miss Jansson," Professor Finnelan snapped, turning on Akko. "I should have expected this. I knew you were trouble the moment you set foot in the castle. Well, you can rest assured that this will be your last day here at Luna Nova – "

"I believe that's my decision to make, Professor Finnelan."

Akko didn't think the situation could get any worse until Professor Holbrooke shuffled down the lawn, her hands folded behind her back and her expression neutral.

"Headmistress, this girl just flew an illegal broom through the halls of our school – " Professor Finnelan started.

"I know what happened; I saw it myself," Professor Holbrooke interrupted. "And you can rest assured that I will do what I believe is the right thing. Miss Kagari, please follow me."

Akko caught sight of Hannah and Barbara's triumphant faces as she left, but Diana turned her head pointedly so that their eyes couldn't meet. Somehow, that felt worse. She walked numbly in Professor Holbrooke's wake as she strode toward the castle. She was going to be expelled, she just knew it. She wanted to say something to defend herself, but there seemed to be something wrong with her voice. Professor Holbrooke was sweeping along without even looking at her; she was surprisingly quick some someone so short that Akko had to jog to keep up. Now she'd done it. She hadn't even lasted two weeks. She'd be packing her bags in ten minutes. What would her parents say when she turned up on the doorstep?

Up the front steps, up the spiraling staircase inside, and still Professor Holbrooke didn't say a word to her. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Akko trotting miserably behind her. She thought of Blair and the disappointed look on her familiar's face once she told her they were going to leave. She thought about Shiny Chariot and how she would never be able to become a great witch like her idol now.

Professor Holbrooke stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Kowata, could I borrow O'Neill for a moment?"

O'Neill? Thought Akko, bewildered; but they had just left Amanda on the front lawn.

It wasn't Amanda O'Neill that came out of Professor Akane's class, but a tall, athletic fifth-year girl who looked a lot like her. They had the same eye color and skin tone, but this girl had short, apple-red hair that was swept back into three points.

"Follow me, you two," said Professor Holbrooke, and they marched on up the corridor, the older O'Neill looking curiously at Akko.

"In here."

Professor Holbrooke pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Mr. Mxyzptlk, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Please leave, Mxyz," she requested. Mr. Mxyzptlk threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor Holbrooke slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two girls.

"Akko, this is Amelia O'Neill. Amelia – I found you an Anchor."

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor Holbrooke, granting them a kindly smile. "I have seen it for myself. While it is true that Akko has absolutely zero talent when it comes to flying a broom – honestly, I don't think she could even pull off such a simple spell for as long as she lives – "

"You're not building my confidence, Professor," moaned Akko. She didn't have a clue what was going on, but she didn't seem to be getting expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to her legs.

"But she managed to do the one thing that not even Professor Kiki was able to do," Professor Holbrooke told Amelia. "She rode the Shooting Star and it accepted her."

Amelia was now looking as though all her dreams had come true at once.

"Is that true, Akko?" she asked excitedly. "Did you really tame the Shooting Star?"

"I didn't really tame it," said Akko immediately; she could feel the broom shaking irritably in her hands. "It's more like a mutual respect for each other."

"You ever seen a game of Chariot Race?" asked Amelia.

"Amelia is the captain of the Polaris team," Professor Holbrooke explained.

"She's just the build for an Anchor, too," said Amelia, now walking around Akko and staring at her. "Light – speedy – and with an outstanding broom like the Shooting Star, she could easily outstrip the best of us. Yes, an anchor would be the perfect position for her. But, Professor, first-years aren't allowed to play Chariot Race, aren't they?"

"Well, I suppose I could bend the first-year rule just this once," said Professor Holbrooke with a wink. "Heaven knows, you all could use a better team than last year. I used to be in the Polaris house myself and I have not seen such a horrendous display since my third year when Elvis Presley rode the entire track on her face…."

"I thought Elvis was a dude," said Amelia.

"Do you really think anyone could make it in the music business without using a bit of magic to cheat?" said Professor Holbrooke teasingly.

She peered sternly over her glasses at Akko.

"I want to hear you're training hard, Miss Kagari, or I may change my mind about punishing you."

Then she smiled brightly.

"You must feel very proud to be taking Chariot's place. She was one of the best Chariot Racers Luna Nova ever had."

* * *

"You're _joking!_ "

It was dinnertime. Akko had just finished telling Lotte and the others what had happened when she'd left the grounds with Professor Holbrooke. Shooting Star had been taken back to Elma's office only on the promise that it wouldn't be sealed up again under Akko's request. She knew the broom appreciated it.

" _Anchor_?" Lotte said. "But first years _never_ – you must be the youngest house player in about – "

" – A century," said Akko, shoveling roast beef into her mouth. She felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Amelia told me. Speaking of which, how come you never told us you have a sister, Amanda."

"I have six of them, actually," said Amanda nonchalantly. "I'm the youngest, but I'm also the third to get accepted into Luna Nova. So, when's sis gonna get you trained up?"

"Next week," said Akko. "Only don't tell anyone, Amelia want to keep it a secret."

"Sure wish my sister could break the rules for me, but I guess you're a special case," said Amanda, smirking. "You know, in a way, the only reason you got on to the team was because I stole – borrowed – Shooting Star from Elma's office. So, you kinda owe me."

"Yeah, and you're the one who almost got me killed from a hundred foot drop," Akko retorted bluntly. "So I think we're even."

Constanze held up her gadget, which had somehow converted into a clock, and she tapped the side to catch Amanda's attention.

"Oh, we should be going, Amanda," said Jasminka. "Wangari said she thinks she found new secret passageway out of the school?"

"I bet it's just that one behind the statue of the Scarlet Witch we found in our first week. See ya, ladies."

Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka had hardly disappeared when Diana walked past their table being flanked by Hannah and Barbara.

"Enjoying your last meal, Akko?" said Hannah snidely.

"When're you getting on the train out of here?" added Barbara.

"That's enough, both of you," Diana said in a soft, but firm voice. "I think she has been sufficiently punished enough, no thanks to that delinquent of a classmate of hers. Amanda O'Neill not only steals from the staff, but also settles the blame on others. She truly is scum."

"You take that back!" shouted Akko, slamming her hands on the table and throwing her seat back. "I'll have you know that I didn't get punished at all! In fact, things turned out pretty great, and it was because of Amanda! So you better apologize right now."

"You wish for me to apologize for speaking truth?" said Diana coldly. "Well, I regret to inform you that I will do no such thing. If you were wise, you would leave her behind before she gets you into trouble you can't pull yourself out off."

"Why you…," growled Akko.

"You should be grateful, Akko," said Barbara pointedly. "Diana took the time out of her very important schedule to offer your sympathy and advice. That's more than a lowly commoner with no magical heritage like you deserves. Bow your head in gratitude!"

"Like hell I am!" Akko was seething at this point. "You think you're so great, Diana, then why don't you prove it? In fact, I challenge you to a magical duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter, Diana? You too scared to take me on?"

"Diana doesn't have to waste her time with – " Hannah started before Diana's voice cut through.

"Very well, I accept your challenge. And I will take Hannah as my second. Do you know who yours will be?"

"Lotte, of course," said Akko immediately.

"EH?" Lotte squeaked.

"But where're we gonna have the duel?" asked Hannah curiously.

"How about the trophy room at midnight; it's always open," suggested Barbara.

"Then I will see you both at midnight," said Diana coolly to Akko and Lotte. "You had best not disappoint, Atsuko Kagari."

When Diana and her groupies had gone, Akko pulled up her seat and crossed her arms in a huff while Lotte looked like she was close to having a stroke.

"Akko, what are you thinking?" hissed Lotte fretfully. "You can't take on Diana. You don't even know any spells yet."

"I totally know a bunch of spells," said Akko proudly. "I just haven't got them to work yet – oh, relax, Lotte," she added to her best friend's gasps of horror. "Everything's going to be fine. Diana isn't going to hurt us. She may act all high and mighty, but she would never do anything that would cause any real damage. And if I'm being truthful, I was kinda expecting her to refuse. I didn't think she'd be willing to break the rules to prove a point."

"But what if you wave your wand and nothing happens?"

"Then I'll just run up to her and punch her in the nose."

"Excuse me."

They both looked up. It was Sucy Manbavaran. Akko and Lotte were surprised – they rarely saw Sucy outside the dormitories.

"Um, can we help you?" asked Lotte.

"I couldn't help over hearing what you and Cavendish were saying – "

"Don't try to stop us," said Akko immediately.

"I don't want to," said Sucy. "I just wanted to ask if any of you end up dying, could I harvest your organs for my experiments. I'm hoping witch's liver will replaced the goat liver I ran out of last week. And if you could spare some toenails, I wouldn't complain."

When Sucy looked up waiting for their answer, Akko and Lotte were already out the door.

* * *

All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Akko thought, as she lay awake much later listening to her roommates falling asleep (except for Sucy, who may as well have been dead for all that Akko could tell). Lotte had spent all evening giving her advice such as "If she tries to curse you, you had better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them." There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Elma, and Akko felt she was pushing her luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, she wasn't let Diana's rude comments pass – this was her big chance to beat Diana face-to-face. She couldn't miss it.

"Half-past eleven," Lotte muttered at last, "we'd better go."

They pulled on their tunics, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Polaris common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the archway when a chilling voice spoke from behind them, "You never did say if I could harvest your corpses or not."

A candle light flickered on. It was Sucy, looking just as gloomy in her plain nightgown and nightcap.

" _Sucy!_ " Lotte squeaked, holding her chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I just wanted an answer," said Sucy blandly. "I heard that a witch's ribcage makes an excellent casing for a magical grail."

"We're not giving your our body parts!" howled Akko. "Come on, Lotte."

Akko pushed the wall and the stones separated down the middle to open a path into the dark corridors. But Sucy wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Akko and Lotte through the archway, partially lighting the halls with her candle.

"You know Cavendish is gonna kill you within the first two seconds – three seconds if you get lucky. She comes from a magical family that goes back for fifteen centuries and you just learned to be a witch last month. But it's not all bad. If you die, I can use your skull for a pencil holder."

"Why do you have to be so creepy?" Akko whined. "Why are you even following us, anyway?"

"Someone has to drag your dead bodies down to the dungeons," said Sucy like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Professor Hex came up with this new potion that requires fresh dead skin cells, and you can't get any fresher than a couple of recently deceased witches."

"Please stop talking about us dying," cried Lotte. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

They flittered along the corridors with the glow of Sucy's candle guiding the way through the thick darkness. At every turn Akko expected to run into Elma, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the light of the flickering candle caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. And waiting on the opposite end of the room staring up at a particularly large golden cup was Diana joined by Hannah and Barbara. The three of them turned when they heard the door creak and faced Akko's party.

"You made it," said Diana coolly. "I was afraid you had backed out."

"Like I would ever miss a chance to wipe the floor with you," Akko retorted.

"Then let us not waste any time," said Diana as she and Akko drew their wands together. "I will be sure to make this quick. Count us off, Akko."

"On the count of three," said Akko, taking a defensive stance. "One – two – "

But before she could reach three, they heard a noise in the next room that made them jump. Akko and Diana's groups rushed together in the middle of the room holding out their wands when they heard someone speak.

"God damn it, would it kill Professor Holbrooke to invest in some light switches!"

It was Elma. Horror-struck, Akko waved madly at the other five to follow her as quickly as possible; Hannah and Barbara looked like they were about to argue, but Diana stifled their protests and scurried silently toward the door, away from Elma's voice. Sucy's nightgown had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Elma enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," they heard her mutter, "Probably hiding."

"This way!" Diana muttered to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Elma getting closer. Barbara suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – she tripped, grabbed Lotte around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" Akko yelled, and the six of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Elma was following – they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Akko and Diana vying for the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going – they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost her," Akko panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping her forehead. Lotte was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

"How did she know?" Diana gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest. "How did she know?"

"We should probably go back to our dorms before we get caught," Sucy suggested, not at all winded.

"Someone must have tipped her off," Diana said to Akko. "You realize that, don't you? Elma knew someone was going to be in the trophy room at midnight, so that means someone must have told her. Did you say anything to anyone?"

"Nah, we kept it to ourselves," Akko shook her head. "You think someone was eavesdropping on us?"

"It's possible," said Diana. "Either way, we should get going."

It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.

It was Mr. Mxyzptlk. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Mxyz – please – you'll get us thrown out," Akko pleaded.

Mr. Mxyzptlk cackled.

"Wandering the halls at midnight, aren't ya, kiddies? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"I should probably go tell the dragon lady," said Mr. Mxyzptlk in a saintly voice, but his eyes glinted wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"You will not get Diana in trouble, you stupid imp!" hissed Hannah.

"Yeah, so get out of the way," snapped Barbara, taking a swipe at Mr. Mxyzptlk – this was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Mr. Mxyzptlk bellowed. STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS HALLWAY!"

"Way to go, dummies," Sucy said to Hannah and Barbara.

Ducking under Mr. Mxyzptlk, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door – and it was locked.

"This is it!" Lotte moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door. "We're done for! This is the end!"

They could hear footsteps, Elma running as fast as she could towards Mxyz's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Diana snarled. She whipped out her wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, " _ **Open Sesame!**_ "

The lock clicked and the door swung open.

"Wait, that's a real spell?" asked Akko, looking bewildered.

"Just get in!" Diana hissed.

They piled through the door, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Mr. Mxyzptlk?" Elma was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please'."

"I don't have time for your games, Mxyz, now _where did they go_?"

"Won't say nothing if you don't say please," said Mr. Mxyzptlk in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right – _please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Mxyz whooshing away and Elma cursing in rage.

"She thinks this door is locked," Akko whispered. "I think we'll be okay – get _off_ , Sucy!" For Sucy had been tugging on the sleeve of Akko's tunic for the last minute. " _What?_ "

Akko turned around – and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, she was sure she'd walked into a nightmare – this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. They weren't in a room, as she had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.

They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous polar bear, a bear that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor, with a golden, four-star marking stamped between its murky-black eyes.

It was standing quite still, its black eyes round and staring at them, and Akko knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that; there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant. Akko groped for the doorknob – between Elma and death, he'd take Elma.

They fell backward – Akko slammed the door shut, and they ran, almost flew, back down the corridor. Elma must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see her anywhere, but they hardly cared – all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they ran all the way down to ground level and shouldered their way into the dining room. It was thankfully dark and empty, which means they could rest in the seats, or in Akko's case, collapse on the floor in peace.

It was a while before any of them said anything. Lotte, indeed, looked as if she'd never speak again.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Akko finally. "A freaking polar bear? Why would there be a polar bear in Britain?"

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" said Diana after a moment to catch her breath. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Akko suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its teeth."

"No, _not_ the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

She stood up with Hannah and Barbara, glaring at them.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed – or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to bed. Hannah! Barbara!"

Akko, Lotte, and Sucy simply watched them leave into the foyer and disappeared up the spiral staircase.

"That girl really needs to get her priorities straight," said Sucy.

But Diana had given Akko something else to think about as they climbed back up to the Polaris dormitories and fell into their beds. The polar bear was guarding something….The teachers had closed off the corridors to guard something. Something they must have wanted to keep safe from something – or someone. Something like whatever Professor Ursula and Blair had been trying to hide.

It looked as though Akko had found out where the long package from vault one-nine-one was.

* * *

 **Like in canon, it'll be a long time before Akko learns how to fly a broom on her own power. So to make up for that, we have the sentient broom, Shooting Star! I think the broom respects her enough both here and in canon to let her ride it since no one has been able to stay on it for so long, despite giving its best effort to throw her off.**

 **Next chapter: Halloween**


	10. Halloween

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Ten: Halloween**

Akko and Diana were being very cautious around one another when they saw each other in the dining room for breakfast the next morning. The thought of who may have tipped off Elma and their close encounter with the polar bear last night was still weighing on their minds. Akko sat at a table on the opposite side of the dining room with her usual group of friends, which now seemed to include Sucy, whose little brush with death seemed to make Akko more appealing to the morbid witch. She filled everyone in about the package that seemed to have moved from the Department of Demi-Humans to Luna Nova, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Amanda.

"Or both," chimed in Jasminka.

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about three feet long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Akko had considered asking Blair about what the package may be, based on the way she reacted to the news of the object being taken out of vault one-nine-one, but she also kept her lips sealed whereas the item was concerned and most likely would have been a wasted effort.

Though the both of them were still on edge after what happened, Akko had thought it would be a good idea to at least inform Diana what she thought was lying underneath the trapdoor. Though Akko would never admit it out loud, Diana was perhaps the smartest witch in Luna Nova. If anyone could figure it out, it was her. Unfortunately, Diana seemed as clueless as the rest of them and if she did have even the slightest inkling as to what it was, she was keeping it to herself.

 **"MAIL CALL!"**

As the students in charge of delivering mail zoomed into the dining room as usual, Akko had perked hopefully and looked up. She had been expecting a package for a while now and she hoped today would be when it arrived. Her prayers were answered when she saw Wangari – Amanda's friend a couple years ahead of them – flew overhead and dropped a thick, square package right in front of her, knocking her bacon on the floor. Wangari had hardly moved away when another witch zoomed overhead and dropped a letter on top of the package.

Akko ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:

 **DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE**  
It contains your new Chariot Racing uniform, but I don't  
want everybody knowing you're on the team or they'll  
all talk about you receiving special treatment. Amelia  
O'Neill will meet you tonight on the racing field at seven  
o'clock for your first training session.

 _Professor Ursula Callistis_

Akko had difficulty hiding her glee as she handed the note to Lotte to read.

"Your uniform finally came in!" Lotte squealed excitedly. "Akko, you have to try it on!"

"We should probably go back to the dorms before people get suspicious," suggested Sucy.

They left the dining room quickly, wanting to unwrap the uniform in private before their first class, but halfway across the foyer someone stuck their leg out and tripped Akko. She hit the flagstone with her face and her package went flying out of her hands. Akko winced and looked up as Hannah and Barbara suddenly seized her package and ripped off the wrapping.

"That's a Chariot Racing uniform," Hannah sneered, waving it around roughly. "Wow, Akko, just when we think you couldn't be any more pathetic, you always surprise us."

"You actually think you could be a Chariot Racer?" Barbara said with a mocking laugh. "You can't even ride a broom properly. You have about as much chance of racing as Shiny Chariot being popular."

Akko gritted her teeth as Jasminka and Constanze helped her up, but surprisingly it was Lotte who stepped up.

"Shows what you know," she said firmly. "Akko rode the Shooting Star and you can bet she's going to be an amazing racer! And what about you two, huh? I bet you couldn't even go faster than twenty miles, not that either of you would do it without begging Diana for permission."

Hannah and Barbara looked like they had been smacked across the face; they probably weren't expecting someone as timid as Lotte to backtalk them.

"You think you can talk down to us, you four-eyed wallflower?" Hannah snapped. "Your presence is so weak, you might as well be made of air. No one ever bothers to give you a second glance because you're so plain and simple and completely unattractive – "

"You better shut your goddamn mouth or I – " Amanda started, furiously rolling up her sleeve ready for a fistfight.

Before Amanda could go through with her threat, Diana appeared in between them as if she suddenly popped out of thin air.

"What is going on here?" said Diana, glaring evenly at both parties.

"Hey, Diana, check this out," said Barbara, pointing to the uniform. "Akko thinks she's a Chariot Racer. Pathetic, right?"

"Oh yes, I thought I heard Amelia O'Neill talking about a new player on their team," said Diana. She carefully took the uniform from Hannah's hands, folded it neatly, and handed it to Akko without trouble. "I suppose after taming the Shooting Star, it seems only natural that they would wish to bend the rules for special circumstances. Though I can't say I approve of them turning a blind eye to such an obvious violation of Luna Nova's regulations."

"You're not gonna have a problem with this, are you?" asked Akko.

"It is not my place to question the teacher's judgment," said Diana calmly. "Though if the school is willing to bend the rules for you, I hope you live up to their expectations. Do not disappoint me, Akko. Come along, Hannah, Barbara."

Akko and the others headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at the look of horror on Hannah and Barbara's faces.

Akko had a lot of trouble keeping her mind on her lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where her new uniform was lying on her bed, probably being used as a cushion by Blair, or straying off to the racing field where she's be learning to play that night. She bolted her dinner down that evening without noticing what she was eating, and then rushed upstairs with her friends where they found Blair – in human form – taking an iron to her uniform.

"Just thought I'd smooth it out for you before you went to practice," said Blair as she switched off the iron. "You always want to make a good first impression. I remember how obsessed Chariot used to get with her uniform – always steamed it every night before a big game. All right, here you go, put it on."

Akko practically tore off her tunic and slipped on her new Chariot Racer uniform with glee. The material was made of a smooth, bright-red fabric that clung to her body like a second skin for aerodynamic efficiency, had a hood sown on the nape to block out rain or snow, and included a pair of red tinted goggles to keep the wind or anything else out of her eyes. Her name was written on the back in gold thread above a large number "5". Akko couldn't deny it – she looked good.

As seven o'clock drew closer, Akko stopped by to pick up Shooting Star from Elma's office and the both of them set off in the dusk toward the racing field. She'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. A wide athletics track took up more than half of the stadium from the outer edge, but it had no separating lanes. There were also metal poles with lights on them on the inside of the track, but Akko couldn't tell what their function was.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Amelia, Akko mounted Shooting Star and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling - she swung around the edges of the track three times and swerved in between the stands. The Shooting Star turned wherever she wanted at her lightest touch.

"Hey, Akko, come down!"

Amelia O'Neill had arrived with a stop watch around her neck and a giant golden ring around her wrist. Akko and Shooting Star landed next to her.

"Very nice," said Amelia, her eyes glinting. "I can see what Holbrooke meant...you two are a well-oiled machine - or at least one of Professor Croix's machines. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

She marched over to one of the metal poles and turned back to Akko and Shooting Star.

"Right," said Amelia. "Now, Chariot Races are easy enough to understand, even if it's not so easy to play. Up to ten teams can play at a time, but since Luna Nova only has five houses, it's limited to five teams. And each team has five players."

"Five teams, five players, got it," Akko repeated.

"Now you see this ring," said Amelia, holding up the golden ring on her wrist. "This is what I guess you would call a baton. The main objective of each player is to perform one lap around the track and then pass it on to the next player in your team. The game ends when all five members of your team have successfully crossed the finish line with their ring."

"So it's like a relay race," said Akko. "Sounds simple enough."

"Heh, you would think that," said Amelia amusingly. "Kid, you haven't seen anything yet."

Amelia raised her hand over her head and snapped her fingers so that the noise echoed across the empty field. Suddenly, the lights on the metal poles began to flash with warning sirens. A transparent screen popped up in the middle of the field and was flipping through hundreds of random words so fast that Akko started to go cross-eyed. The screen finally stopped on "Geyser" and Akko heard a strong rumbling from the track. When she looked over, she saw the once smooth surface starting to rise and mold into new shapes. And after a few seconds, the track had become a cragged terrain with holes spewing steam and water.

"Whoa!" shouted Akko, starry-eyed.

"This is what makes Chariot Races so interesting," said Amelia. "The track changes for each lap and the terrain is chosen at random. Sometimes you get a geyser field, sometimes a lava zone, and there's even this anti-gravity zone that really messes with your sense of direction. You have to really be on your toes if you don't wanna get knocked out of the sky."

"Those look kinda dangerous," said Akko as one of the geysers blasted off. "Has anyone ever died playing Chariot Races?"

"Never at Luna Nova," Amelia reassured her. "We've had a couple of broken bones, but nothing worse than that. Anyway, besides being fast and avoiding obstacles, the main thing you have to understand is that Chariot Races run on a point system. You could be in first place, but it won't make a difference if the other team has more points than you."

"Okay, so how do you get points?" asked Akko.

"Well, the easiest way is to finish your lap, which is worth one hundred points. Players are allowed to use magic during a Chariot Race - with some restrictions, obviously. If you attack another player with a spell, your team gets fifty points for each successful hit. But the drawback is that you can also lose fifty points if someone else hits you in return. There are also hidden targets throughout the track that you can hit with spells or secret rings to add to your collection, which will give you twenty-five points for each one. Theoretically, you could cross the finish line last and still win if you've found enough."

"Um, I'm not very good with magic," Akko admitted nervously. "Really, the only classes I'm good at are the ones that don't use magic."

"Well, you're the anchor, so you don't have to worry too much," said Amelia lightly. "The anchor is the last racer for each team, but is arguably the most valuable. You see, the first anchor to cross the finish line earns their team a full three hundred points while the others receive a normal one hundred, which means they almost always win. That's why anchors get attacked so much.

"Now, I told you about how to get points, but there are also hundreds of ways to lose points, too. The biggest one is dropping the ring and letting it hit the ground. That loses a whopping one hundred points, which essentially means you wasted your lap. If you lose all your rings, your team is automatically disqualified. I also told you that you can lose points when you are hit by another player's spell, and there are other fouls you could do like physical assault, flying off the track, crash into objects or stealing another player's rings. There are, like, a billion rules that you can break and each one deducts points differently depending on the ref. There are games where even profession teams lose all their points and fall into the negatives, so watch out for that.

"Well, that's it - any questions?"

"Why is it called Chariot Races?" asked Akko, raising her hand like she was in class. "Shine Chariot used to be a racer, right? Did they name it after her?"

"No, no, of course not," Amelia laughed heartily. "Chariot Races has been a sport played by witches since Roman times, back when they raced with actual chariots. They didn't fly back then and they didn't switch to brooms until the flight spell was invented in the 1800s. The fact that Chariot Du Nord was named the way she was is pure coincidence."

"But Shiny Chariot did play, right?" asked Akko eagerly.

"She was the best racer Polaris ever had," said Amelia, staring off into space wistfully. "How I wish I could have been on her team back in the day... But that's then, and this is now. And now is the time to be practicing. I wanna see what you and the Shooting Star are capable of and what you need work on. We won't use the alternate tracks until we have the whole team here."

Akko mounted Shooting Star again and spent the past half hour circling the track with Amelia timing them with her stopwatch. After the first lap, Shooting Star went faster and faster until Akko lost her grip and went flying into the stands. Amelia made a note to work on Akko's grip and Shooting Star's self-control. Soon, night fell upon them and they couldn't carry on.

"That Chariot Cup will have our name on it this year," said Amelia happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than my oldest sister Aurora, and she could have played for New York if she hadn't gone off to Wakanda to save mother nature."

"Aurora is the other one that got into Luna Nova, right?" said Akko. "Amanda said she has six sisters, but only three of you got into Luna Nova. How come?"

"Luna Nova is a very prestigious private school," said Amelia. "Even though all seven of us are witches, only three of us were ever invited - don't know why though. Aurora was the oldest and the first one admitted. Alexia ended up going to a different school, but now she runs her own designer dress band that you see idols wear, especially at Starlight Academy. I'm the third oldest and in my fifth year here. Angela is in her third year and Alicia is in her second year at the sanctum sanctorum, but Alicia's twin, Alyssa, skipped magic school and went straight to M.I.T. And then there's Amanda, who you already know."

"So...all of you have names that begin and end with 'A'?" asked Akko, blinking owlishly

"Our mom has a weird sense of humor," Amelia admitted

* * *

Perhaps it was because she was now so busy, what with Chariot Race practice three evenings a week on top of all her homework, but Akko could hardly believe it when she realized that she'd already been at Luna Nova two months. The castle was starting to feel like a second home, though she did miss her parents dearly and took every opportunity to call them and tell them how she was...mostly managing in her classes. Her lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the Polaris dormitory thanks to Blair's unique pumpkin magic (she was always more festive and active this time of year, and now Akko understood why). Even better, Professor Akane announced in Charms that she thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen her make her feline familiar, Kenny, zoom around the classroom. Professor Akane put the class into pairs to practice. While Lotte and Sucy had been paired up together and Amanda worked with Jasminka, Akko had ended up sitting at the same table with Diana. It was hard to tell whether Akko or Diana was angrier about this. Akko hated being shown up and Diana hated anything that would affect her grades badly.

"The Telekinesis Charm is very effective in that it doesn't need an incantation to cast," said Professor Akane, casually sitting cross-legged on top of a pile of books as usual. "All you need is a focusing point – namely your wands – and the intent to move an object to your will. Be sure to keep your mind focused only on your target and not let yourself get distracted. I remember one time when Makoto was little she was practicing her telekinesis spell when she got distracted by the sprinklers and – "

"You don't need to tell them that!" yelped Makoto Kowata.

It was very difficult for some. It came as no surprise that Lotte and Sucy managed to catch on quick, but Amanda and Jasminka kept poking and prodding their feather with no results. Consttanze probably would have turned her gadget into a fan to raise the feather, but she still hadn't come back from Professor Croix's workshop since last night. Meanwhile, Akko was smacking the feather with her wand in frustration until she somehow managed to set it on fire.

"You're doing it wrong," Diana snapped at her when Professor Akane supplied them with another feather. "You can't just fling your wand around and expect it to work like that. It requires patience and focus."

"If you think you're so smart, why don't you give it a go?" Akko snarled.

Diana straightened up in her seat, looking perfectly poised as usual, flicked her wand and gently tapped the feather. Immediately, the feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, nicely done!" shouted Professor Akane, clapping. "Look everyone, Diana's doing it! Guess that's what you can expect from a Cavendish!"

Akko was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.

"Oh, look at me, I pretty miss perfect Cavendish," said gave a nasally imitation of Diana to her group of friends as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. "Ugh, I just can't stand her! She always has to try to make me feel like a loser."

"I'm not apologizing for my academic success, if that's what you're thinking."

Akko flipped around. Diana was standing right behind her with a hand on her hip and her eyes narrowed on Akko with clear signs disapproval.

"Instead of wasting your time complaining and goofing off," Diana snapped, "perhaps you should prioritize your time into bettering yourself. If you don't want me to constantly overshadow you, then make it your goal to overcome me. Don't criticize the efforts of others when you yourself have not given everything."

Diana flipped her hair in a way that always made Akko's stomach feel uncomfortable and turned away from the Polaris students, marching off to her next class without looking back.

"I think Diana was giving you advice," said Lotte. "You know, in her own way."

Akko absolutely did not want to admit that she was right, least of all Diana. It wasn't like she wasn't trying, she just wasn't as good as everyone else when it came to using magic. Of course, Diana would just say she was making excuses – and Akko had been thinking a lot about Diana today. But she quickly pushed the pretty blonde girl out of her mind when they returned to the dorm and got ready for the Luna Nova annual costume party. Akko had been looking forward to this ever since she learned that Luna Nova even had a costume party. She spent weeks ('she' being Lotte) sowing her costume together until she made an exact replica of Shiny Chariot's stage costume.

After putting on her costume, she went down to meet her friends waiting for her in the common room already in their own costumes. Amanda was going as a RAF fighter pilot, Jasminka dressed up as a pastry chef (no one was really surprised), Sucy somehow found a suit that made her look like a giant mushroom, Constanze was wearing a stereotypical lab coat and gloves, and Lotte explained that her costume was made to match the exact clothes of the protagonist of her favorite book series, Night Fall. They were just about to leave when –

"Akko, you forgot your necklace!"

Blair had just come down from the dormitories in her human form, dressed as a sexy cat girl (of course) and was dangling Akko's jeweled necklace in one hand.

"Thanks, Blair," said Akko in relief as she took the jewelry. "I can't believe I almost forgot it."

"I've noticed that you always wear that necklace, even in classes," said Lotte. "Is it something special, Akko?"

"Yeah, I've had it since I was born," said Akko, adjusting the string around her neck. "It's the only clue I have about my past. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom and dad, but I wouldn't mind knowing where I came from."

"Yeah, yeah, sappy origin stories and all that," said Amanda rudely. "C'mon, I wanna get down there before they run out of cider."

They practically ran all the way down to the ground floor and entered the Great Hall, where they were taken in by the decorations and the festive atmosphere.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. Everyone was dressed in a variety of unique and colorful costumes from maids and idols to knights and demons – Akko swore she saw a ghost sliding through the walls, but it turned out to be a student using a transparency spell. Tables of food and drink were lined up along the side, as it was at the start-of-term banquet.

Akko was just helping herself to a baked potato when she noticed Hannah and Barbara walking through the crowd, but Diana was missing from their usual trio.

"Hey, where's Diana?" Akko asked them when they passed the table.

"Well, unlike some uncultured pretenders," said Hannah, sneering at her Shiny Chariot costume, "Diana takes her education very seriously."

"She's in the library studying for next month's exams," added Barbara. "That's what makes Diana so amazing, unlike you, Akko."

"Just get out of here!" snapped Akko.

Hannah and Barbara walked away, howling with mocking laughter.

"I can't believe Diana would miss the Halloween feast," said Lotte.

"Well, that's what you would expect from the best students in the school," said Sucy dryly.

Akko stabbed her baked potato with her fork, but did not eat it, her mood having gone sour. But she didn't have to dwell on it for long when Professor Croix came sprinting into the dining room, her cape hanging off her shoulder and worry etched on her face. Everyone stared as she reached Professor Holbrooke's seat, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Minotaur – there's a minotaur in the dungeons – I don't know how it got in, but it's running loose! We need to clear everyone out!"

There was a brief moment of stunned silence shared between everyone – and then they all flew into a wild panic. It took several green firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Holbrooke's staff to bring silence once more.

"Heads of Houses," she rumbled, "lead your students back to their dormitories immediately!"

Ursula jumped up sharply.

"Everyone, follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the minotaur if you do as you are told! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, please no shoving!"

"How did a minotaur get in?" Jasminka asked with concern as they climbed the stairs.

"Don't ask me, their species is supposed to have a lousy sense of direction – that's why they avoid mazes," said Sucy. "Maybe Mxyz let it in for a Halloween joke."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way their way through a crowd of confused Twilight students, Akko suddenly grabbed Lotte's arm.

"I've just thought of something – Diana."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about the minotaur."

They all stopped in the middle of the stairs. Amanda bit her lip.

"Oh, all right," she snapped. "But the princess owes us big for this."

Ducking down, they joined the Twilights going the other way, slipped down a deserted corridor, and hurried off towards the library. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Ursula!" hissed Lotte, pulling Akko behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Ursula but Croix. She crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's she doing?" Sucy whispered. "Why isn't she down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers. She's the one who saw the minotaur."

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Akko.

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Croix's fading footsteps. Constanze fiddled with her gadget, which had somehow turned into a sonar, and made a series of hand motions.

"Constanze says that Croix's headed for the third floor," Amanda translated. "What's she doing going up there?"

"Who cares? We've made it to the library," said Akko.

They were standing outside the double doors and Akko grabbed both handles when she heard something coming from inside. Curious, she pressed her ear against the wooden paneling and could faintly hear a muffled voice from inside. It was Diana. She could only faintly make out the words (" _Makmur Mikmur Mektoral_!")

"Diana's casting a spell," said Akko. "She must be in trouble!"

"Or she could just be practicing some advance magic to show off in class," said Sucy pointedly.

"Whatever, let's just get in there and split before the minotaur comes!" Amanda hissed.

Amanda had a point, Akko realized. With no time for subtlety, she lifted her foot and kicked the double doors wide open before rushing in.

Akko froze; her jaw dropped dramatically and her eyes were practically popping. The rest of her friends shared similar expressions at what they saw inside. Standing in the middle of the library, waving her wand freely through the air, showering herself in magical stars, was Diana Cavendish dressed in a perfect replica of Shiny Chariot's stage costume, just like Akko's.

It looked like Diana had been in the middle of dancing under her shower of magical stars when Akko's group suddenly barged in and Diana stopped in her tracks as if she had just been petrified by a gorgon.

No one spoke or moved for the longest time, at least not until Constanze took a quick pic of Diana with her gadget. The pretty blonde girl squeaked, ducking behind one of the desks to conceal everything from the neck down, though clearly red in the face.

"T-T-This isn't what you think!" Diana squeaked. It was the first time Akko ever saw Diana embarrassed; her chest felt fluttery for some reason. "I – I was just – "

"Playing Shiny Chariot?" said Jasminka politely.

"After all that talk about Shiny Chariot being an embarrassment to witches," said Sucy with a smug grin, "it turns out that you're actually a closet Chariot fan yourself."

"I am not!" squealed Diana.

"Oh, my god, this is the happiest day of my life," said Amanda gleefully. "I am so gonna blackmail you with this."

"You will get nothing from me!" Diana snapped. Then without warning, Akko bounds across the room, leaps on top of the desk, and clutches Diana's hands with her own. "A-Akko, what are you – "

"Diana, this is so wonderful!" said Akko with stars in her eyes. "I knew you didn't really mean all that bad stuff you said about Shiny Chariot! This is great! Now we can talk about Chariot stuff together? Did you collect her special trading cards? I have all of them except for the ultra-premium rare 'A Believe Heart is your Magic' card. Those are super expensive! Hey, you're rich, do you have one? Can I see it some time?"

"Get your hands off of me!" yelped Diana, ripping her hands away. "Fine, you may have caught me, but there is no way anyone will ever believe a word you say, so you better keep it to yourself! If I hear about this from anyone, I will curse you all!"

"I've never seen the great Diana Cavendish so flustered before," said Sucy with a wicked grin. "It makes me want to tease her more."

"You…you…ugh!" groaned Diana, stamping her feet and walking toward the doors. "I don't have to take this!"

"Wait, Diana, there's something we need to warn you about!" yelped Akko, remembering why they came here in the first place.

"I don't want to hear it from you, Atsuko Kagari," said Diana coldly.

She opens the library doors a small crack, but then closes then quickly. She slowly turns back to the Polaris students with her back pressed against the doors.

"There's a minotaur loose in the castle, isn't there?" asked Diana softly.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" said Lotte curiously.

Diana didn't have a chance to respond before the door exploded inwards, sending her flying and landing on top of Akko, throwing them both off the desk and onto the floor. Akko groaned from the throbbing pain in the back of her head, but quickly forgot about it when she realized that Diana was lying on top of her. Their faces were so close to each other's and they were looking into each other's eyes – Akko felt like her entire face was on fire. Thankfully, Diana pushed off of her and Akko's heart started to calm down. Once she took a moment to collect herself, Akko pulled herself up to her feet and peeked over the desk next to Diana.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, it's arms and head covered in murky, matted fur stained red in some parts while its mid-region was a dull, granite gray, and its legs bended backwards and ended in chipped hooves, and a furry, snouted face with one broke horn. It was holding an iron pipe that looked like it had been ripped out from the walls of the castle plumbing.

The minotaur breathed heavily – thick, hot air exhaling from its snout - as it peered around the library for its pray. It looked at Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, who were huddled on one side, then turned to Lotte, who was ducking behind the cool and collected Sucy, and then it spotted Akko and Diana peering over the desk. It waggled its long ears, making up its rage-fueled mind, and charged at Akko and Diana.

It plowed through the rows of desks and bookshelves with its head bowed, charging with its one horn first. Diana grabbed Akko by the shoulder and pulled her out of the way just as the minotaur smashed through the desk they were hiding behind, showering them in wooden splinters. Diana pushed Akko behind her arm protectively as she drew her wand, but the minotaur was surprisingly quick and slapped the wand out of her hand, sending it flying across the library. The minotaur raised the pipe overhead and swung down, but Jasminka suddenly stepped in between them and caught the weapon with her bare hands, not showing the slightest bit of strain and she pushed back against it.

"Whoa!" cried Akko in awe. "Go, Jasminka!"

The minotaur tried pushing it weight against the pipe, but Jasminka was not budging – she was surprisingly strong. Then a green laser shoots off from the side and blinds the minotaur's left eye. All heads turn to Constanze, who had converted her gadget into a magical shotgun. The tiny mute unloaded multiple rounds at the minotaur's face, forcing the beast to shield itself behind its free hand. It didn't notice that Amanda was running along the top of the bookshelves until the crazy American bounded off and landed on top of the minotaur's head, clinging to its one horn. The minotaur howled angrily as Amanda started kicking any part of the monster's face that her long legs could reach.

"Get your hands off them, you damn, dirty cow!" shouted Amanda.

Unfortunately, the minotaur reached up, caught Amanda by her ankle, and threw her off. She flew towards Diana and Akko, but Diana quickly sidestepped out of the way, leaving the two friends to collide with one another. Both girls hit the ground with mutual groans of discomfort, but the string of Akko's necklace snapped in the collision and rolled across the library's polished floor with a clatter.

The minotaur's ears perked at the noise and it raised its head, spying the tiny green jewel. It was as if a switch had been flipped inside the monster's head that it no longer found any interest in attacking young witches; rather it completely ignored them and stomped heavily towards the necklace with its beefy fingers stretched out to grab it. It was just inches away when Lotte suddenly slid across the floor and grabbed the necklace along the way. The minotaur blinked and looked at Lotte, who was running as fast as her legs could carry her. The minotaur threw back its head and howled furiously before charging at Lotte's backside.

"Why is it chasing Lotte?" Jasminka asked curiously.

"It wants the necklace," Diana concluded immediately.

"I didn't know monsters liked to accessorize," said Amanda.

"Would somebody please help me?" squealed Lotte.

She turned the corner around the non-fictional section just before the minotaur steamrolled by and smashed its way through the Astronomy section. The minotaur doubled back and resumed chasing Lotte down the rows of bookshelves. Lotte was just passing the necromancy section when Sucy suddenly slid in the minotaur's path, her expression quite neutral as it stared up at the minotaur's fuming, furry face. The minotaur howled and started raising its pipe –

"Excuse me, Mr. Cow," Sucy called it causally as the minotaur leaned forward so that its snout was only inches from her face. "Open wide."

The minotaur howled in Sucy's face, which she used as an opportunity to reach inside the head of her mushroom costume and pulled out a bottle of venomous-green liquid. Without any hesitation or restraint, she dumped the entire bottle into the minotaur's mouth. The minotaur snapped its mouth shut and its eyes stretched wider than they already were. Then the great beast dropped to the floor, howling in agony, as its flesh began to ripple and bubble like a pot of boiling water. All of its fur fell off in one sweep, its horn snapped all on its own, and its skin started hissing before chunks of it started to rip and tear –

Akko rushed to the nearest waste basket and vomited up her entire dinner.

When the…gruesome scene was over with, all that remained was a puddle of melted flesh, graying fur, and shockingly clean bones. Everyone was hesitant to approach, especially with Sucy cackling like a psychopath.

"I guess it was a little too strong," said Sucy with a toothy grin.

"Sucy, you are both awesome…and terrifying," said Amanda hesitantly.

"That was…disturbing," said Lotte, slowly walking over to Akko and holding out her necklace. "Here you go. I managed to keep it safe."

"Thanks a bunch, Lotte," said Akko, accepting the jewel gratefully. "But why did it suddenly start going after my necklace?"

While they were busy contemplating that, Constanze saw something glinting amidst the pool of deceased minotaur remains. The tiny magic-engineer waded through the murky puddle of flesh, much to the disgust of her friends, and reached down to pick up whatever it was. She cleaned the object with her sleeve, stared at it for a moment, then held it up for the rest to see. It was a tiny machine that resembled a silver spider with a red light that had a deep crack in the middle.

"What's that you found, Constanze?" asked Amanda. Constanze responded with a series of hand signals that only Amanda seemed to understand. "What? That's one of Professor Croix's magitronic devices? Are you sure?"

Constanze only nodded in response.

"Why did that minotaur have one of Professor Croix's magitronic devices?" asked Lotte curiously.

"Well, she was the last one to see the minotaur," said Sucy bluntly. "And we did see her running towards the third floor while the rest of the teachers went to the dungeons. And the only thing we know that's on the third floor is whatever that giant polar bear is guarding. Maybe Professor Croix let the minotaur in so that she could get whatever is it underneath that trap door."

"We're talking about a teacher here!" snapped Diana. "She wouldn't do that!"

Akko wasn't so sure. It did make a whole lot of sense considering Professor Croix was the only one who knew how magitronics worked and there was the fact that Blair held a grudge against the lavender-haired professor. But she always seemed so nice to Akko. She wouldn't do something so deceitful…right?

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the seven of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the minotaur's roars. A moment later, Professor Finnelan had come bursting into the library, closely followed by Croix, with Ursula bringing up the rear. Ursula took one look at the pool of minotaur guts all over the floor and Constanze's tunic, rushed for the same waste basket as Akko, and added to the pile.

Croix bent over the minotaur gore. Professor Finnelan was looking at the Polaris students. Akko was accustomed to seeing Finnelan angry at her, especially after word reached her that she hadn't been expelled. Any hopes of winning fifty points for Polaris faded quickly from Akko's mind.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor Finnelan, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Croix had been examining the minotaur remains as if she was looking for something, which did not ease Akko's suspicions of her, but her concerns were more pressing with Finnelan

Then a small voice called out to her.

"Please, Professor Finnelan – they were looking for me."

"Diana!"

Diana stepped forward with her hands folded, seemingly forgetting she was still in her Shiny Chariot costume.

"I was preoccupied with studying that I didn't hear the warning or notice it was creeping upon me until it was already here. Akko and her friends came to warn me. If they hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead. Everyone was distracting it and Manbavaran killed it with a potion – don't ask me what it was. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Akko and her friends stared at Diana with their jaws practically reaching the floor. While most of her story was true, they all knew that Diana would have probably handled the situation a lot better if they hadn't distracted her. They weren't going to mention that little fact, of course.

"Well – in that case…" said Professor Finnelan, staring at the Polaris group like they had offended her in some way. "I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a fully-grown minotaur and live to tell the tale. You each win Polaris five points for saving Diana. Heavens knows we would be lost without her. The headmistress will be informed of this. If none of you are hurt, I would strongly suggest you all return to your dormitories. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

They hurried out of the library and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of minotaur guts, quite apart from anything else.

"We totally should have gotten more than thirty points," Amanda complained. "We killed a minotaur for god's sake."

"I think we should be grateful that we even made it out alive," said Lotte.

"Shouldn't we tell the teachers about that thing we found?" said Jasminka.

"With Professor Croix standing then, unlikely," said Diana. "I still don't believe that Professor Croix was behind it all, but if there is a chance she was involved, we don't want her finding out what we know."

They reached the fork in the hall that lead to the Polaris dorms in the north tower and the Lunar dorms in the south.

"Well, this is where we depart," said Diana. She walked down the corridor a few paces, but then turned around and said, "Akko, I just wanted to say…thanks for coming after me. I honestly didn't think you cared."

"I'll admit I'm a little jealous of you, Diana," said Akko, "but I still think you're a great person. Especially now that I know you're a Shiny Chariot fan too!"

"NOT – A – SINGLE – WORD!" Diana seethed and hurried off to the Lunar dorms.

But from that moment on, Akko and Diana became good friends even if others couldn't quite see it. Diana still overshadowed Akko and constantly made remarks on how she could improve herself, and Akko would always get into some kind of mischief and find many different ways to make Diana want to pull her hair out, but none of it was done out of spite any more. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and slaying a twelve-foot minotaur is one of them.

* * *

 **I never liked Quidditch because it always seemed like a game where only the seeker matter - everyone else seemed pointless by comparison. There is only one instance in the entire series where the Seeker catching the snitch doesn't win them the game. In Chariot Racing, everyone has an even role and actually requires the entire team to play a part instead of just putting everything on one person.**

 **Also, I could resist recreating Sucy's famous scene from the original OVA.**

 **Next chapter: Chariot Race**


	11. Chariot Race

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Eleven: Chariot Race**

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The forest around the school became capped with white and the nearby lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Elma could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the racing field, naturally protected from the chill of winter by her internal heat and magical scales.

The Chariot Race season had begun. On Saturday, Akko would be playing in her first match after weeks of training. If Polaris won, they would move up into second place in the house championship – no pressure, or anything.

Hardly anyone had seen Akko play because Amelia had decided that, as their secret weapon, Akko should be kept, well, secret. But the news that she was playing anchor had leaked out somehow (Akko placed her bet on it being Sucy), and Akko didn't know which was worse – people tell her she'd be great or people telling her they'd be running underneath her holding a mattress.

It was really lucky that Akko and Diana were now on friendlier terms. She didn't know how she'd have gotten through all her homework if Diana wasn't always dragging her to the library every day, what with all the last-minute Chariot Race practice Amelia was making them do. She had also leaded her The History of Chariot Races, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

Akko learned that there were seven hundred ways to committing a foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that anchors were usually the smallest and fastest players, and the most serious racing accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing the game, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

The day before Akko's first race the Polaris group were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and Lotte had used her song to summon a tiny flame fairy that she carried around in her skull lantern. They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Professor Finnelan crossed the yard. Akko, Lotte, and the others subtly moved closer together to block the fire fairy from view; they weren't sure if it was breaking the rules, but it was no secret that Finnelan held their group in contempt and would look for an excuse to punish them. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Finnelan's eye. She marched over. She hadn't seen the fire, but she seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What is that you've got there, Kagari?"

It was The History of Chariot Races. Akko showed her.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school." Said Finnelan.

"This isn't a library book, it's Diana's – " Akko sputtered.

"You stole a book from Diana?" said Finnelan scandalously.

"What, no I didn't – "

"Give it to me," said Finnelan, snatching up the book before Akko could get a word in. "Five points from Polaris."

"How could she automatically accuse me of stealing?" Akko muttered angrily as Finnelan walked away. "It's so unfair."

"Well, Amanda likes to steal things," said Jasminka.

"I'm offended by that statement," said Amanda, looking affronted. "It's true, but I'm still offended."

* * *

The Polaris common room was very noisy that evening. Akko and her friends sat together next to a window. Lotte was checking everyone's Charms homework for them, Sucy was doing some weird chiropractic yoga, Jasminka was eating from her bottomless bucket, Constanze found a way to make her robot do an Irish jig, and Amanda was conked out in her chair with little bits of drool escaping the corner of her mouth.

Akko, on the other hand, was restless. She wanted The History of Chariot Races to take her mind off her nerves about tomorrow. Why should she be afraid of Finnelan? She already faced a fully-grown minotaur – a teacher should be a piece of cake. Getting up, she told her friends she was going to ask Finnelan if she could have it.

"Better you than me," they all said in practiced unison, but Akko had an idea that Finnelan wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.

She made her way down to the staff room and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again. Nothing.

Perhaps Finnelan had left the book in there? It was worth a try. She pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met her eyes.

Croix and Ursula were inside, alone. Croix's pants were folded on the table. One of her legs was bloody and mangled. Ursula was wrapping bandages around the wound.

"Goddamn that stupid bear," Croix was saying. "You think you could have gone with something less inclined to kill me, like maybe a Cerberus?"

Akko tried to shut the door quietly, but –

"Akko?"

Ursula had caught her. Croix jumped out of her seat quickly and draped her cape across to hide her leg. Akko gulped.

"Um, I was hoping to get a book back from Professor Finnelan."

"Well, Professor Finnelan isn't here right now," said Ursula calmly, "but we'll let her know you're looking for her."

"Oh…okay, see ya."

Akko slowly shut the door behind her before she sprinted at full speed back to the Polaris common room.

"Did you get it?" Lotte asked as Akko joined them. "What's the matter?"

In a low whisper, Akko told them what she'd seen.

"You know what this means?" she finished breathlessly. "It means that Sucy was right. Croix tried to get past that polar bear on Halloween! That's where she was going when we saw her – she's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my Shiny Chariot Trading Cards she let the minotaur in, to make a diversion!"

"That's the exact same thing I said that night," said Sucy, who had somehow managed to cross her legs behind her neck.

"But you heard Diana," said Lotte. "She's a teacher. She wouldn't try to steal something that Professor Holbrooke was trying to keep safe."

"Honestly, Lotte, the princess think all teachers are saints or something," said Amanda, having woke up during the conversation. "I'm with Akko and Sucy on this one. I wouldn't put anything past Croix, especially with all that techno-magic she's got lying around. But what's she after? What's that bear guarding?"

Akko went to bed with her head buzzing with the same question. Jasminka was snoring loudly, but Akko couldn't sleep. She tried to empty her mind – she needed to sleep, she had to, she had her first Chariot Race in a few hours – but the expression on Croix's face when Akko had seen her leg wasn't easy to forget.

* * *

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The dining room was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Chariot Race. Akko sat with her usual group of friends and Shooting Star leaning against her side. Lotte pushed a plate of toast and sausages in front of Akko.

"You've got to eat some breakfast," she said.

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast."

"I'm not hungry."

"Look, I totally get it," said Blair understandingly. "This is your first real match. But don't worry, I know you'll do fine."

Akko certainly didn't feel fine. In an hour's time, she'd be walking onto the field.

And just when things couldn't possibly be any worse, Hannah and Barbara suddenly walked up to their table with typical sneers of mockery and disdain. Barbara snatched Shooting Star away and held it over her head before Akko could react fast enough.

"Hey, Akko, think you can actually stay on your broom this time?" said Hannah tauntingly.

"Maybe we ought to throw on some glue, just to make sure," Barbara laughed.

"I wouldn't hold him like that if I were you," said Akko warningly.

But her warning came late. Shooting Star sprang to life, pointing its arrowhead angrily at the girls, and slapped them repeatedly with its bristles. Hannah and Barbara cried out with their arms over their heads as they ran out the dining room, Shooting Star in hot pursuit of them, everyone in the hall laughing as they went.

"I tried to warn them," said Akko, taking a bite of toast

* * *

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the racing field. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it would still be difficult to see what's going on when the tracks changed.

Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka were up in the top row. As a surprise for Akko, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Akko had ruined when she he been trying to do her practical homework. It said "The Amazing Akko", and Jasminka, who was as good at drawing as she was cooking, had painted a starry background behind the words. Then Amanda had performed a tricky little spell so that the stars twinkled.

Meanwhile, in the locker room, Akko and the rest of the team were changing into their bright-red uniforms (Twilight would be playing in dusty-yellow, Corona in soft orange, Eclipse in deep purple, and Lunar in light-blue).

Amelia cleared her throat for silence.

"Okay, ladies," she said. "This is it."

"The big one," said third year Indian witch Rajani

"The one we've all been waiting for," said Rajani's twin sister, Rashmi

"They were on the team last year," said second year Canadian witch Avery, "they've memorized O'Neill's speeches by heart now."

"All right, all right, enough," said Amelia. "This is the best team Polaris has had since Aurora played. We're going to win. I know it."

She glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Akko followed Rajani and Rashmi out of the locker room and, hoping her knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the track to loud cheers.

Professor Kiki was refereeing. She stood on the opposite side of the track waiting for the five teams, her broom over her shoulder.

"Now, I want a nice fair race, all of you," she said, once the first set of racers took their position on the starting lines. Akko noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Eclipse Captain, Bayonetta, a fifth year like Amelia. Bayonetta only flashed a confident smile and waved at Professor Kiki casually. Out of the corner of her eye Akko saw the fluttering banner high above, twinkling with stars and proclaiming the Amazing Akko over the crowd. Her heart skipped. She felt braver.

The starting racers mounted their brooms and secured the rings on their wrists; Amelia was being extra cautious and slung the ring down her forearm. Once everyone was prepared, Professor Kiki snapped her fingers; the metal poles flashed their warning sirens, and the transparent screen appeared in the middle of the field. The randomizer flashed several words before it stopped on "Ocean". The field suddenly flooded with salt water and a cold wind blew in their faces along with an artificial sun that beat down on the top of their heads. Everyone was already up in the air; the other players waited on the sidelines for their turn. White lines appeared on the surface of the water to indicate the track and Akko couldn't say for curtain, but she thought she saw a fin gliding across the water.

"All players ready!" shouted Professor Kiki. "On my mark! Three…two…one!"

Professor Kiki gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.

The five starting racers shot forward like bullets leaving the barrel of a gun. The race had started.

"And first out of the gate is Abigail Finch of Corona followed closely behind by Amelia O'Neill of Polaris, Beatrice Rourke of Eclipse and Vivian Tulsey of Twilight are vying for third place, and Artemis Hunt of Lunar bringing up the rear!"

Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka's friend, Wangari the third year from Corona, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by the beady-eyed Professor Finnelan.

The racers dived under the water into a new terrain filled with coral, natural rock formations, and schools of fish darting in every direction; bubbles of air formed over their heads like pulsating helmets.

"And they are in the drink! Finch is really belting along up there, but Rourke and Tulsey have overtaken O'Neill and are shooting for first. O'Neill weaves through the rock bed and – yes, she grabs the first ring of the game! Looks like O'Neill's playing for points instead of speed. A good strategy, but make sure not to fall behind! Hunt is also on the offensive and has taken out two targets – they're racking up the points from behind! They're at the halfway mark – OOH! Finch just took a spell to the face from Rourke and shoots for first! That's fifty points for Eclipse and puts Corona in the negative! Tulsey is being very cautious – she's riding along Rourke's slipstream to keep the pace; smart on you, Tulsey! But wait! Tusley takes a shot from the back of the head and O'Neill suddenly jumps to second behind Rourke! Rourke is firing back at O'Neill, but O'Neill is weaving through the spells with amazing grace – remember, racers, spellcasting is much slower underwater! Hunt grabs the first ring for her team in the rear behind Finch, who is still reeling for the Rourke's spell. They're three quarters of the way there – the next set of racers are lining up for the pass. Everyone is coming up from the water. It looks like Rourke is going to make the first pass – no, wait, am I seeing this right? It looks like O'Neill is – yes, she is! She's throwing her rings from second place! RAJANI MAKES THE CATCH! POLARIS SCORES THE FIRST LAP!"

Polaris cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from Eclipse.

"Move over, will ya? I can't see a thing."

"Blair!"

Jasminka and Lotte scooted sideways to give Blair enough space to join them.

"You didn't think I was gonna miss my girl's first game, did ya?" said Blair, patting a pair of binoculars around her neck. "How's the race looking so far."

"Polaris is in the lead by about twenty-five points," explained Amanda. "Lunar is in second – collecting all those rings and targets really paid off. But Eclipse and Corona are getting heavy handed – they've started shooting off spells at every chance they get. Twilight hasn't done much of anything yet."

"How's Akko-nyan lookin'?" asked Blair.

"You can tell she's nervous and trying to keep her cool," said Sucy, peering at the speck that was Akko.

Off on the sidelines behind Rashmi and Avery, Akko with gripping and ungripping Shooting Star's neck anxiously. She watched Rajani weave through the "Canyon Track" in third place, intentionally falling behind the others while she looked for targets and rings. This was part of Amelia's game plan.

"Don't try being the first – leave that part for Akko," Amelia had said. "Your jobs are to collect as many points as you can so Akko and Shooting Star can focus on the finish line."

Rajani had exited the "Canyon Track" with an outstanding score: four targets and three accurate shots on the other players – the gap between first and second was over a hundred and fifty points. Unfortunately, the next course had turned into the "Mist Track", which made it nearly impossible to see anything and Rashmi ended up colliding with two objects, cutting down their score. Rashmi did manage to find one ring thanks to the glint of its golden surface, but Polaris had done very poorly by the time she exited and had been bumped back down to third place behind Eclipse and Twilight, who had made a stunning comeback thanks to their racer's amazing ability to see through the mist.

"Don't worry, I'll get out lead back," Avery assured Akko before she lined up for the pass.

The course transformed into the "Ruin Track" and Avery took off like a rocket when Rashmi made the pass. She quickly zipped past the Eclipse and Twilight racers and started weaving strategically through the broken buildings and collapsed walls, uncovering three rings and two targets by the time she was halfway through the course. Akko was definitely the fastest on the team, but Avery had the best eyesight out of anyone she knew.

"And just like that, Avery bumps Polaris back up to first with a fifty-point lead!" Wangari was saying. "But the other racers are starting to catch on and are going after the extra points, except for Eclipse! It seems like they intend to finish this with the anchor lap! They're coming around the three-quarter mark!"

Akko leaned forward and joined the rest of the anchors waiting for their teammates to make the pass. She slid up next to Bayonette, who was smiling in an almost wicked way. Akko felt a shiver run up her spine.

Akko looked back. Avery came bursting out of the track with the Eclipse player right on her tail. She looked up at the transparent screen that told her the next course was going to be the "Windy Track". This was perfect! She had a lot of practice with this course during training and Shooting Star knew how to fly with the wind instead of against it.

Avery was getting close – she was loosening the ring collection around her wrist – she stretched her hands out to make the pass – Akko's finger nearly grazed the gold –

 **WHAM**! A roar of rage echoed from the Polaris stands – Bayonetta had kicked Avery in the face and sent her spiraling off course, dropping two of rings she had collected – and with it a whole two hundred points.

"FOUL!" screamed the Polaris.

Professor Kiki spoke angrily to Bayonetta and then ordered a full hundred-point retraction, but Bayonetta only smiled and took off when her teammate passed on the rings. Lunar came from behind and passed off their rings when Avery finally got her wits about her and managed to pass off what rings she managed to hold on to.

Down in the stands, Amanda was yelling, "Send her off, ref! Red card!"

"I didn't know american's knew football - real football - terminology," said Sucy blankly

"I'm smarter than most Americans," said Amanda. "Which is not really saying much, but my statement still stands!"

"I can't believe she nearly knocked her out of the air and the ref only took a hundred points," Blair hissed.

Wangari was finding it difficult not to take sides.

"So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating – "

"Wangari!" growled Professor Finnelan.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul – "

"Wangari, I'm warning you – "

"All right, all right. Bayonetta nearly kills Avery, which could have happened to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to the Eclipse. But it looks like Kagari is about to take a little bit of revenge as she easily outstrips Bayonetta as they reach the first-quarter mark!"

It was as Akko dodged a spell shot by Bayonetta, which went spinning dangerously past her head, that it happened. Shooting Star gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, she thought she was going to fall. She gripped Shooting Star tightly with both her hands and knees. She'd never felt anything like that before.

It happened again at the halfway mark after Akko put a sizable distance between herself and the other racers. It was as though Shooting Star was trying to buck her off. Had it been the first day they met, Akko would have believed it was possible, but they had bonded since then and Akko thought they were close by now. Akko tried to steer lower towards the windy grass of the track – she briefly wondered if Chariot Races had time-outs – and then she realized that Shooting Star was completely out of her control. She couldn't turn. She couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, narrowly wandering close to the edge of the track, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated her.

Wangari was still commentating.

"Zuri from Twilight makes a sweep for the rings, but Rea from Lunar comes in for the steal! Zuri makes a pass at another target – OOH, a killer shot from Bayonetta of Eclipse! She's been raking in all the headshots today! Wynonna from Corona slides up to Bayonetta for the shot – Ugh! Bayonetta expertly dodges and counters! Eclipse is taking a sizable one hundred and twenty-five in first place with Twilight running second!"

The Eclipse were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Akko's broom was braving sporadically. It was carrying her slowly higher, way above the stands, jerking and twitching as it went.

"What in the name of the Great Pumpkin is Akko-nyan doing?" Blair mumbled. She stared through her binoculars. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she'd lost control of her broom…but that can't be right…."

Suddenly, people were pointing up at Akko all around the stands. Shooting Star had started to roll over and over, with her only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Shooting Star had given a wild jerk and swung Akko off it. She was dangling from it, holding on with only one hand. Akko felt her shoulder pop from the sudden drop, but she wrapped her fingers tighter around the broom's neck. It was only when she was hanging underneath Shooting Star that she saw it: a silver spider with a glowing red light was clinging to the underside of Shooting Star's arrowhead.

"Wait, isn't that – " said Akko, reaching out for the device.

Shooting Star jerked sideways, making Akko grab on to the broom's neck instead of the device.

"There's something sticking to Akko's broom," Amanda translated for Constanze, who was looking up through Blair's binoculars. "It looks like that magitronic machine that was controlling the minotaur on Halloween. Someone's controlling Akko's broom."

At these words, Sucy seized Blair's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Akko, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" moaned Lotte, gray-faced.

"I knew it," said Sucy. "Look – in the stands, third row from the top."

Lotte grabbed the binoculars. She spotted Diana sitting between Hannah and Barbara, looking deeply concerned while her groupies were laughing and recording Akko's precarious situation on video. And sitting in the row directly behind them was Croix. She wasn't watching the race, but was completely focused on her phone, her fingers tapping at a fanatical pace.

"Croix is controlling Akko's broom from her seat – guess she wanted a good view of when she went splat," said Sucy.

"What should we do?"

"Leave it to me."

Before Lotte could say another word, Sucy had disappeared like a shadow in the night. Lotte turned the binoculars back on Akko. Shooting Star was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for her to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Twilight, Lunar, and Corona racers all stopped what they were doing and flew up to try and pull Akko safely onto one of their brooms. But it was no good – every time they got near her, Shooting Star would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled underneath her, obviously hoping to catch her if she fell. None of them noticed that Bayonetta was passing the three-quarter mark and heading into the final stretch of the race.

"Come on, Sucy," Lotte muttered desperately.

Sucy had slithered her way across to the stands where Croix sat, and was now sliding along the row behind her; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Ursula headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Croix, she crouched down, pulled out a bottle of noxious-green liquid, and pulled the cork before tossing it at Croix's feet. Sucy quickly made herself scarce when the green liquid started to hiss and wisps of smoke started to rise, once again knocking Ursula over on her way out.

It took perhaps thirty seconds before the liquid exploded and a toxic-green cloud of foul smelling gas covered the stands. There were a lot of panicked screams and a lot of coughing as everyone fled the stands with their hands over their mouths and their eyes watering. Croix was the last to exit the cloud behind Diana and her friends, leaning against her knees and taking huge breaths of fresh air. Sucy slithered back into the shadows with a toothy grin – Croix would never know what had happened.

It was enough. The light of the mechanical spider died out and Shooting Star was finally back in Akko's control – she smashed the device with her fist for good measure.

"Lotte, you can look!" Jasminka said. Lotte had covered her face in Blair's jacket for a few minutes.

Akko clambered back onto Shooting Star and moved lower so that she was flying between the other players, who were kindly asking if she was all right, when Akko saw Bayonetta close to reaching the finish line. Akko narrowed her eyes and pressed herself against Shooting Star as she suddenly rocketed down the track. Akko and Shooting Star were flying much faster than they ever had in practice – whenever they reached this speed, Akko usually fell off and got hurt. But she was determined not to let Bayonetta win after taking advantage of the situation. A huge gust of wind happened to blow in their favor at that moment, which propelled the further along, passing the three-quarter mark in seconds and were speeding along Bayonetta's trail. Bayonetta looked shocked when Akko and Shooting Star were suddenly flying alongside her – she quickly put in an extra boost of speed. They were neck-and-neck – Akko's fingers were starting to cramp up – the finish line was right there –

"It's a photo finish!" shouted Wangari as both players crossed. "Give us a moment to review the footage…we're coming up on it right now and the winner is…ATSUKO KAGARI!"

"She cheated, she had to! There's no way anyone could fly that fast without cheating!" Bayonetta was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference – Akko hadn't broken any rules and Wangari was still happily shouting the results – Polaris had won first place by seventy points over Eclipse in second place. Akko heard none of this, though. She was being made a strong cup of tea in the dining room, with Blair and her friends. She caught Diana looking worriedly in her direction when she passed with Hannah and Barbara, but didn't stop to say anything.

"It was Croix," Amanda explained. "Lotte and Sucy saw her and Constanze confirmed that the thing that control Akko's broom was a magitronic control bug. Croix is the only one in the school who knows how magitronics works."

"I don't believe that," said Blair, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to her in the stands. "I have my own reasons for not liking Croix, but I know her well enough to know that she would never – NEVER – do anything to hurt Akko-nyan. Besides, what would be her motive for killing her."

Akko and her friends looked at one another, wondering what to tell her. Akko decided on the truth.

"We found out something about her," she told Blair. "She tried to get past that polar bear on Halloween. It bit her. We think she was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Blair dropped the teapot.

"How do you know about Arcas?" she said.

"Arcas?" Lotte gasped. "That thing has a name?"

"Yeah – he's Ursula's familiar – one of them – found him in the woods in France when he was just a little cub – she lent him to granny to guard the – "

"Yes?" said Akko eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Blair gruffly. "That's top secret. I'm not even supposed to know, but granny trusts me."

"But Croix's trying to steal it."

"Bull," said Blair with a heated gaze. "Croix is a Luna Nova teacher, and more importantly, she's one of my oldest friends. I think I know her better than you kids."

"So why did she just try and kill Akko?" said Sucy. "We saw it with our own eyes. There was a control chip on Akko's broom and Croix was fiddling with her phone the whole time, like she does with those little vacuum cleaners – "

"I'm telling you, you're wrong!" Blair snapped, slamming her fist on the table and making them jump. The whole dining room paused for a moment, everyone looking at them, until Blair shot a deadly glare and everyone went back to their own business. "I don't know who it was that was controlling Akko-nyan's broom, but I know it wasn't Croix. She…she would never want anything to happen to Akko-nyan, I swear! Now, listen to me, all of you – you're meddling in things that don't concern you. It's dangerous. You forget Arcas, and you forget what he's guarding, that's between granny and Jellal – "

"Aha!" said Akko, "so there's someone named Jellal involved, is there?"

Blair refused to speak to Akko for weeks after that.

* * *

 **Next chapter: The Fountain of Polaris**


	12. The Fountain of Polaris

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Twelve: The Fountain of Polaris**

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Luna Nova woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake was frozen solid and Amanda, Jasminka, and Conse were punished for creating an automated snowball pitching machine that shot at nearby heat sources. Mail was getting even more difficult to receive as the deliverers had to fly all the way to the mail office in the town beyond the gate and some of them end up flying off course due to the stormy skies.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Polaris common room and the dining room had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and bitter winds rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Hex's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

"I can't wait to go back to the Philippians for break," grumbled Sucy, unhappy to be in Magic Pharmaceutics for the first time ever. "At least it's warm there."

"It's not gonna be any better for me when I go back to New York," said Amanda. "But Jasminka probably has the worst of it – she lives in Moscow."

"I'm used to it," said Jasminka placidly. "Constanze and Lotte are going be staying for the holidays."

"I heard that Diana was also staying over as well," said Lotte. "But Akko, are you sure you don't want to go back home. I'm sure your mom and dad miss you."

It was true, they did miss her very much when she called home and told them she made the decision to stay at Luna Nova for Christmas. It wasn't that she didn't want to go home – she wanted to see her parents and her old friends so badly – but there was still a lot of work that needed to be done and Akko didn't feel right about leaving Lotte and Constanze alone. Thankfully, her parents were very understanding people and accepted that Akko wanted to try something new this year, but they made her swear that she would come back for Easter holidays. Akko readily agreed.

When they left the dungeons at the end of class, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two pairs of feet sticking out at the bottom and the loud puffing sounds told them that Blair had somehow got roped into help Elma.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just turned into a dragon and carried it yourself," Blair groaned.

"And bring the whole castle down on top of us?" snapped Elma. "No thanks!"

"Want any help?" Jasminka asked; she was unexplainably strong for someone her size.

"Nah, we're all right, thank you for offering," said Elma, though Blair's groan said that she didn't agree.

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Hannah's screechy voice from behind. She and Barbara took the front, but Diana stayed behind them, becoming a neutral party as she always did. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, fatty? Gonna use that to buy something to stuff your face with again, I suppose."

Jasminka only smiled calmly, but Akko lacked her friend's restraint and made a dive for Hannah just as Hex came up the stairs.

"KAGARI!"

Akko let go of the front of Hannah's tunic.

"Hey, she was provoked, Hex," said Blair, sticking her matted face out from behind the tree. "She was insulting her friend."

"Be that as it may, familiar, fighting is against Luna Nova rules," said Hex evenly. "Since it is a first offense, I will only be taking five points from Polaris, but there better not be any more trouble after. Move along, all of you."

"Hannah, Barbara, you go on ahead back to the dormitory," said Diana. "There are some things I need to do."

Hannah and Barbara pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Amanda rounded off to Diana, gritting her teeth. "You just stood back like you always do."

"I do not control their words or actions," said Diana coolly. "To believe otherwise is arrogance. Even if I did tell them to stop, there would always be a next time and I can't protect your feelings forever."

"She makes a good point," said Sucy.

"Hey, hey, let's not think about that now," said Elma urgently. "Come on, cheer up, it's Christmas. Tell you what, come with us and see the dining room; it looks amazing."

So the seven of them followed Blair, Elma, and the tree off to the dining room where Professor Finnelan and Ursula were busy with Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Elma, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"

The dining room looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and circled the railings of the upper floors, and no less than nine towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of colored crystals.

"How many days you got left until your holiday?" Blair asked.

"Just one," said Diana. "And that reminds me – Akko, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Akko, tearing her eyes away from Professor Finnelan, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of her wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" said Blair, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? A little ambitious, aren't you?"

"Oh, we're not working," Amanda told her brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Jellal we've been trying to find out what that thing underneath the polar bear is."

"You what?" Blair looked shocked. "Listen here – I've told you – drop it. It's nothing to you what that bear is guarding."

"We just want to know what it is that Jellal wants guarded, that's all," said Lotte.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Sucy added. "We've must have been through hundreds of books already and we haven't even come close to figuring it out – just give us a hint – you know something."

"I'm not saying a word," said Blair flatly.

"Then we'll just have to find it ourselves," said Akko, and they left Blair looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

They had indeed been searching books for Jellal's name ever since Blair had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Croix was trying to steal? But the trouble wasn't finding information on Jellal; quite the contrary, the problem was that there was too much information about the man. They knew his full name was Jellal Fernandes and that he was born into slavery at the Tower of Heaven before he led a riot to freedom. From there, he went on to many great accomplishments: former member of the Magical Council of Era, former member of the Ten Saints, founder of the police-enforcement guild, Crime Sorciere, award-winning thesis of new levels of celestial magics, and he had most recently proposed to his childhood friend and lover. And yet, even after combing through all these books, they weren't even a single step closer to figuring out what that thin package from vault one-nine-one was.

Diana took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Akko strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Lotte and the others went their own ways with their own method of searching, but Akko gave up on the current shelf after only three books and eventually gravitated towards the Reference Archives. She had been wondering for a while now if Jellal's secret was somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a special permit from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and she knew she'd never get one. These were the books containing ancient, powerful spells never taught at Luna Nova, and only read by the older students studying for their advance classes and gradate thesis.

"What are you looking for, girl?"

"Nothing," said Akko.

Professor Badcock the Librarian brandished a feather duster at her.

"You'd better get out, then. Go on – out!"

Akko didn't think any excuse she came up with would have helped as Professor Badcock had caught wind of her less-than-stellar reputation and automatically singled her out from the first minute. So, Akko waited outside in the corridor to see if the others had found anything, but she wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't very surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Professor Badcock breathing down their necks.

Five minutes later, Diana and the Polaris girls joined her, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.

"I guess those of us staying will just have to keep looking over the holidays," said Diana. "We'll send a message if we find anything."

"Maybe they could ask their parents if they know anything," said Akko. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Clearly you haven't met my sisters," said Amanda. "Safe is the last word you would use to describe them."

* * *

Once the holidays had started, Akko, Lotte, and Constanze were having too good a time to think much about Jellal. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the fire eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork – bread, English muffins, marshmallows – and plotting ways prank Diana, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.

On occasion, Diana would break from her furtive search of Jellal's mystery item and join Akko's group for a bit of play. Without Hannah and Barbara constantly hanging over her shoulder and the greater majority of the school gone, Diana didn't have to worry about putting on an act for everyone and smiled more often – she has a really nice smile, Akko thought fondly. And even better, Akko discovered that the oh-so-perfect Diana Cavendish wasn't so perfect in everything, especially in chess. Akko had played a lot of Shogi with her father growing up, so she was pretty good, having defeated Diana six games to one. But Constanze was an absolute master of chess, effortlessly breaking through their defenses and forcing them into checkmate within minutes of starting. By the time they finally called it a night, Diana had lost twenty-six games in a row to Constanze and had nearly ripped her lovely hair out in frustration.

When Akko woke early in the morning on Christmas day, the first thing she saw was a small pile of presents at the foot of her bed with Blair sitting on the top with an envelope in her mouth.

"Merry Christmas," Blair said in a muffled voice as Akko scrambled out of bed.

"You, too," said Akko excitedly, spinning around at Lotte and Constanze as they sluggishly got up. "Merry Christmas, Lotte, Constanze! Look, presents!"

"Yeah, we can see that, Akko," Lotte mumbled tiredly as she grabbed her glasses off the nightstand.

Akko took the letter of out Blair's mouth and opened it. It was a photo of her old friends, Hikari, Yuki, and Kyoko along with four new girls: two demons and two angels. Akko flipped the photo over and recognized Hikari's sloppy penmanship:

 _ **Hey, what's happening, Akko-chan? We really miss you? We got some new friends we wanted to show you! Gab-Chan is so awesome at video games and Satania-chan is super funny, but Vigne-chan is a total mom and Raphi's kinda weird. Come home soon so we can hang out! ~ Hikari**_

"I miss you guys too," muttered Akko with a soft smile.

"Are those your friends, Akko?" asked Lotte, peeking at photo.

"Yeah, they're pretty fun to hang out with," said Akko happily. "I should totally introduce you guys."

"I think that would be a great idea," Lotte agreed.

Akko put the photo on her nightstand, promising to frame it later, and went forward tearing the rest of her presents open. Her mom and dad sent a clay jar filled with her all-time favorite snack ("Pickled Plums!" Akko yelled with glee) since it was unlikely the English could understand the refined taste of its unique and exquisite flavor. Amanda had sent a specialized brush to clean Shooting Stars bristles, while not much use to Akko herself, but was very appreciated. Jasminka had sent them each a box of dessert squares called pastila, which tasted like fruit, but were fluffy like marshmallows. Akko wouldn't even touch Sucy's present as there was a foreign green slime spilling through the cracks in the packaging. Even Diana had sent a large box of chocolate dragons.

Akko had torn open a very lumpy package to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in cherry red and a large box of homemade fudge.

"Oh, that's one's from me – well, actually, it's from granny," said Lotte, turning a bit pink as she opened a similarly lumpy package. "When I told her we're friends, she insisted on making you a traditional Jansson sweater – honestly, I just think she was looking for an excuse to knit another."

"That's really nice of her," said Akko, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

There was only left one package. It was very small – it could fit into the palm of her hand – and she heard a muffled rattling inside. She unwrapped it; Blair was staring at her unblinkingly the entire time.

It was a small and unimpressive looking ring. Akko picked it up and held it to the lamplight. It looked like it was made of some type of black material with white dots, almost like the stars on a clear night. Lotte gasped and Constanze dropped the present that she was opening, wide-eyed.

"I've heard of those," Lotte said in a hushed voice, dropping the color splashers she'd gotten from Diana. "If that's what I think it is – they're really rare, and really valuable".

"What is it?"

Without much of a warning, Constanze snatched the ring out of her hand and dropped it into an open slot in her gadget. There was a buzzing that sounded oddly like a microwave until they heard a sharp ding and the gadget opened up again with a bright green check mark. Constanze returned the ring to Akko with a thumbs-up.

"It really is – it's a Ring of Gyges," said Lotte, a look of awe on her face. "They're magic rings created by Gyges of Lydia and only seventeen of them were ever made. It's said that those who wear them have the power to turn invisible at will. Akko, you have to try it!"

Akko slipped the ring on her right hand and Lotte gave a yell and Constanze stumbled back in surprise.

"It is real! Akko, look at yourself!"

Akko checked herself and could see her arms and legs quite clearly, but Lotte and Constanze clearly had no idea she was there as they were looking around the room. Just to confirm, Akko dashed over to the mirror. Sure enough, her reflection was completely absent – she didn't notice, however, that Blair was looking at the exact place where she was standing as if she could see Akko clear as day. Akko pulled off the ring, and Constanze, who was standing right next to her, gave a great leap in surprise with a hand on her chest.

"There's a note!" said Lotte suddenly. "There's a note in the bottom of the box!"

Akko rushed over and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing she had never seen before were the following words:

 _ **This ring once belonged to your birth mother.**_  
 _ **It seemed fitting that it should be returned to you.**_  
 _ **use it well.**_

 **A Very Merry Christmas to you**

There was no signature. Akko stared at the note. Lotte and Constanze were admiring the ring.

"This is such a rare find," said Lotte. "I've only ever heard of them in stories…. Are you okay, Akko?"

"It says…this ring used to belong to my birth mother," Akko mumbled absently.

"You're birth mother?" Lotte repeated with a soft gasp. "You…you never really talk about your birth parents."

"That's because I don't know anything about them," said Akko, staring at the ring like it was a long-lost friend. "The way Blair talked about it, it was like I didn't even have birth parents. But…if this really belonged to my mom…then does that mean you were lying to me, Blair? Blair?"

But when she looked around, she found the dormitory door open and the purple-furred feline nowhere in sight.

* * *

Akko had never in all her life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – a stack of magic crackers every few feet along the table. Of course, Akko had to ask what they were. According to Lotte, these fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble ones humans usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Akko pulled one with Constanze and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. A few tables away, Professor Holbrooke had swapped her pointed witch's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Ursula had just read her.

Flaming Christmas desserts followed the turkey. Diana nearly broke her teeth on a silver coin embedded in her slice of fudge. Akko watched Professor Hex getting redder and redder in his tattooed face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor Cosmos on the cheek, who, to Akko's amazement, giggled and blushed like a shy schoolgirl.

When Akko finally left the table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of self-filling water balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Golem kit, and something that looked like a plastic snake wearing a top hat. The white mice had disappeared and Akko had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Blair's Christmas dinner, if she ever turned up again.

Akko, Lotte, and Constanze spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Diana had been minding her own business reading a book when Akko started pelting her with snowballs trying to convince her to join. She instantly regretted it when Diana used magic to bring an avalanche down on top of her head. Cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Polaris common room, where Akko and Lotte ganged up on Constanze in a game of chess, but still lost spectacularly. Akko suspected they wouldn't have lost so badly if Akko hadn't repeatedly mistake Lotte's pieces for Constanze's.

It had been Akko's best Christmas ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of her mind all day. Not until she climbed into bed was she free to think about it: The Ring of Gyges and whoever had sent it.

Lotte and Constanze, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother them, fell asleep almost as soon as they'd drawn the curtains of their four-poster. Akko leaned over to the side of her bed, pulled open the drawer of her nightstand, and withdrew the tiny box carrying the ring.

Her birth mother's…this had been her birth mother's. She traced her thumb across the surface of the ring, clearly well-worn, but still smooth and pristine. Use it well, the note had said.

She had to try it, now. She slipped out of bed and slid the ring on her finger. She took a quick peek at the mirror, but only saw the dormitory colored in moonlight and shadow. It was a very funny feeling.

Use it well.

Suddenly, Akko felt wide-awake. The whole of Luna Nova was open to her with this ring. Excitement flooded through her as she stood there in the dark and silence. She could go anywhere with this, anywhere, and Elma would never know.

Lotte grunted in her sleep. Should Akko wake her? Something held her back – her birth mother's ring – she felt that this time – the first time – she wanted to use it alone.

She crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and stepped through the archway.

Where should she go? She stopped, her heart racing, and thought. And then it came to her. The Reference Archives in the library. She'd be able to read as long as she liked, as long as it took to find out what Jellal had stashed in the castle. She set off at a brisk pace, her footsteps echoing down the silent corridor.

The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Akko lit a candle to see her way along the rows of books. Though Akko could see her own hand, it must have looked like the candle was floating along in midair, which sounded both creepy and like an awesome prank.

The Reference Archives was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, she held up the candle to read the titles.

They didn't tell her much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Akko couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Akko's neck prickled. Maybe she was imagining it, maybe not, but she thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.

She had to start somewhere. Setting the candle down carefully on the floor, she looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught her eye. She pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on her knees, let it fall open.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence- the book was screaming! Akko snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. She stumbled backward and knocked over her candle, which went out at once. Panicking, she heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside – stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, she ran for it. She passed Elma in the doorway; Elma's glimmering, narrow dragon eyes looked straight through her, and Akko slipped under Elma's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in her ears.

She came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. She had been so busy getting away from the library, she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. Perhaps because it was dark, she didn't recognize where she was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, she knew, but she must be two floors above there.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library – the Reference Archives."

Akko felt the blood drain out of her face. Wherever she was, Elma must know a shortcut, because her soft, yet firm voice was getting closer, and to her horror, it was Croix who replied, "The Reference Archives? Hmm, Blair warned me she might try something like this…she couldn't have gotten too far."

Akko stood rooted to the spot as Elma and Croix came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see her, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much closer, they'd knock right into her – the ring didn't her from being solid.

She backed away as quietly as she could. A door stood ajar to her left. It was her only hope. She squeezed through it, holding her breath, trying not to move it, and to her relief she managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Akko leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before she noticed anything about the room she had hidden in.

It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but resting quite noticeably in the middle of the room was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.

It was a tall basin made from pure-white stone with a wide brim containing a small pool of water that seemed to glow an unnatural shade of blue. But what was even more interesting was the large sphere of water that floated above the basin, rippling and spinning like the waves of an angry sea.

Her panic fading now that there was no sound of Elma and Croix, Akko moved closer to the water sphere, wanting to look inside and see what it was hiding. She stepped in front of it and, to her shock, she could see her own reflection despite being invisible. She stared deeply into the water sphere, unable to look away as if she had been caught in a trance. She stared at the eyes of her reflection…. Were her eyes redder than usual?

Akko stepped back and gasped – her voice was suddenly rougher and deeper than it was two seconds ago. She whirled around. She was back at the Polaris dormitory, but it was a bright and sunny morning judging by the light glimmering through the window. Akko looked back at the water sphere, but it had disappeared and was instead replaced by a closet mirror. Instead of seeing her own reflection, Akko was staring at the face of a young girl a few years older than herself with short, unkempt red hair and wide, wondrous red eyes.

She was looking at Shiny Chariot's face.

It looked like Chariot was trying to comb her hair to control the mess of tangles, but she was fighting a losing battle – even the comb seemed to give up when its teeth snapped. Chariot frowned at the comb when was suddenly pelted from the back of her head and something slimy suddenly covered her hair and dripped down her shoulders, making a mess on the floor. She could hear laughter coming from behind and slowly craned her head, spotting Chariot's roommates pointing and cackling while one of them held up a balloon that sloshed in her hands, letting Chariot know who did it. Akko would have been mad and retaliated, but Chariot just laughed with them and brushed the goop out of her hair.

Akko blinked and suddenly she was walking through the streets, her nose buried in a book and her eyes roaming the pages with fierce intensity, like she was determined to learn these words no matter what. That's when she noticed an elderly lady standing on the side of the street, looking for a moment to cross to the other side, but the moment never presented itself. She suddenly had a great idea, whipped out her wand, and cast a spell that carried the elderly woman on a bundle of balloons. She made it to the other side safely, but her spell had caused the traffic on the busy street to pile up and everyone was yelling at her furiously.

There were many similar incidents that followed. In Magic Pharmaceutics, she had botched up a simple potion that was supposed to cure warts, but instead created a humongous flesh-eating plant monster that eat the teacher – guess that explains how Hex got his current position. She tried helping a boy walking his dog and ended up making a spell that stretched the puppy's legs by ten feet, leaving the poor boy dangling by the leash. And when she tried to show off magic to a group of children at the park, she ended up creating a flock of paper cranes that poked everyone with their sharp beaks.

Akko watched as Chariot failed time and time again; the image of her idol being a perfect magical prodigy was shattered. She had almost started to lose heart when a new set of scenes started to play out.

Chariot had fallen asleep at her desk again, exhausted from spending hours studying the piles of books she had collected from the library. She shivered briefly until she felt something drape over her shoulders and weakly opened her eyes. It was her roommate – the one who had thrown the goop balloon at her head. She smiled softly and tucked the blanket over Chariot's shoulders so that it wouldn't fall off. Chariot smiled contently and fell back to sleep.

Chariot was soaring through the tracks of the racing field, dodging flying spells and weaving through the obstacles with a load of golden rings jingling on her arm. She turned sharply at the final corner, successfully passing the Eclipse anchor, and made a breakaway for the finish line. The crowd exploded with cheers as she crossed, confetti raining down on her head as her teammates were running up to her; the captain pulled Chariot onto her shoulders as Polaris chanting her name. She happily accepted the large golden trophy from Professor Holbrooke, declaring Polaris the winners.

Chariot stood in front of a large crowd of people who had come to see her magic show. A great lump formed in her throat. She had worked up a lot of courage to arrange this show, but now that she was here, she could only think of the hundreds of ways she could humiliate herself. What if she did the spell wrong and turned herself into a mouse or set the building on fire? Chariot was just about to bolt it when she saw five familiar faces in the front row. Croix, Blair, Athena, Bernadette and Izetta – they were all here, shouting words of encouragement. Her heart gave a great leap and smiled despite herself. She knew she could do this; she had been practicing and her friends were there for her. With a great flourish of her wand, she shot bolts of light in the sky which exploded into brilliant fireworks.

Chariot walked up a long, white staircase leading to the tall water basin Akko had found, her eyes steeled with determination. She looked down in her hand and saw her famed Shiny Rod for the first time. She bowed respectfully to the water basin and slowly, purposely raised the Shiny Rod to the water sphere. The first two and the last four gems glowed with a brilliant green light while the third gem was illuminated in gold. The stars above her glistened and a shower of magical energy began to pour from above, swallowing her in its radiance. She could feel her human shape being molded and cried out as she emerged from the light as a flaming phoenix.

She blinked, and Akko was suddenly standing back in the empty classroom, staring at her own reflection in the rippling water sphere. She closed her fist over her chest, her heart hammering against her ribcage. She had just seen a glimpse of Shiny Chariot's life. Her hero was never a prodigy – she was a failure like Akko. But she never lost hope and she worked hard to become better. This thought echoed in Akko's mind, suddenly feeling uplifted and hopeful.

Akko continued to stare into the water sphere, hoping it would let her see more of Shiny Chariot's past. She was brought out of her stupor when she heard a distant noise echo from down the corridor. She couldn't stay here, she had to find her way back to bed. She tore her eyes away from the water sphere, whispering, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.

* * *

"So, wait, you're saying you lived Shiny Chariot's life," said Diana at breakfast the next morning.

"Only parts of it, but I was definitely Shiny Chariot, back when she was a student."

"You think it might be a window into the past?" asked Lotte eagerly. "You think it shows anyone, or just certain people."

"It sound's dangerous," said Diana, waving her fork around pointedly. "We have no idea what that…thing is. For all we know, you could have tampered with the effects of space-time."

"You're overexaggerating, Diana," said Akko. "It's perfectly safe. You can come tonight, I'm going back."

"What we should be doing is figuring out what it is that Jellal Fernandes sent to Luna Nova that is being guarded by that Polar Bear," said Diana. "But knowing you, you'll just ignore me and go anyway. I suppose I'll come to make sure you don't screw up anything."

"You just want to see Chariot," Akko grinned knowingly.

"P-Preposterous!" Diana stuttered. "I want no such thing! Now shut up and eat your breakfast!"

But Akko couldn't eat. She had seen life through the eyes of her idol and would be doing so again tonight. She had almost forgotten about Jellal. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the polar bear was guarding? What did it matter if Croix stole it, really?

"Are you all right?" said Lotte. "You look odd?"

* * *

What Akko feared most was that she might not be able to find the room again. Thanks to Diana, she learned that the Ring of Gyges could conceal three people, but only if they were holding hands. If Akko had been distracted trying to look for the room, she would certainly feel the heat intensifying around her face. They tried retracing Akko's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.

"This is pointless," said Diana. "Let us forget it and go back,"

"No!" Akko hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."

They passed Mxyz, who was gliding with a bucket of live mice in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Diana started to grow impatient and demand they give up, Akko spotted the suit of armor.

"It's here – just here – yes!"

They pushed the door open. Akko whipped off her ring from her finger and ran to the floating water sphere. She could only see her reflection in the water, but she knew it was there.

"See?" Akko whispered.

"I can't see anything."

"You're just not looking at it properly, go on, stand where I am."

Akko stepped aside, Diana rolled her eyes and moved over so that it was her face reflecting off the water's surface. For a few seconds, Diana remained the same with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed in annoyance. But then a moment later, her face looked mystified, her arms dropping at her sides, and her eyes staring unblinking inside.

"Is this real…?" she said.

"Can you see Shiny Chariot?"

"No – I – I see myself…but I'm older and…and my name isn't Cavendish."

"What?"

"It's true. I've taken another name. I'm in a kitchen – it not my family's kitchens, but smaller – I'm living in a humble household. I can hear laughter – children – my children. And…there's someone else…someone…."

Diana tore her eyes away from this strange and unnatural sight to look bewildered at Akko.

"Akko…do you think this thing shows the future?"

"That can't be right. I saw Shiny Chariot in the past – let me have another look – "

"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."

"You're seeing yourself as a middle-class woman with kids, what's so interesting about that? I wanna see Chariot."

"Don't push me – "

A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.

"Quick!" Akko slipped the ring back on her finger and grabbed Diana's hand as Elma peered through the door. Akko and Diana stood quite still as she crept inside the room, her tail slowly whipping behind her. Elma took a great big sniff and her brow furrowed. They both suddenly remembered that dragons had an acute sense of smell and knew that Elma was suspicious of their presence. After what seemed like ages, she turned and left.

"This isn't safe – she could come back here with a teacher. We had better not stay here. Come on."

Diana pulled Akko out of the room.

* * *

The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.

Constanze held up a chessboard with a suggestion to play.

"No."

"Why don't we go up and visit Professor Ursula?" suggested Lotte.

"No…you go…"

"We know what you're thinking about, Akko," said Diana. "That fountain or whatever it was. Don't go back tonight."

"Why not?"

"As I said before, we don't know what it is and it could be dangerous – and besides, you've had too many close calls already. Elma no doubt caught our scents when we were there and will know that you've been visiting more than once. Your magic ring isn't going to keep you safe all the time. All it takes is for one of them to walk into you or you accidentally knock something over."

"Why don't you go annoy someone else?"

"I'm serious, Akko, please don't go."

But Akko only had one thought in her head, which was to get back in front of that water sphere, and Diana wasn't going to stop her.

* * *

The third night she found her way more quickly than before. She was walking so fast she knew she was making more noise than was wise, but she didn't meet anyone.

And there was the fountain and the floating water sphere that would take her to Shiny Chariot. Akko pulled up one of the chairs and sat in front of the fountain. There was nothing to stop her from staying here all night waiting for the visions to fill her mind again. Nothing at all.

Except –

"So – back again, Akko?"

Akko felt as though her insides had turned to ice. She looked behind her. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Professor Ursula Callistis. Akko must have walked straight past her, so desperate to get to the fountain she hadn't notice her.

"I – I didn't see you, professor."

"Funny how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Ursula, and Akko was relieved to see that she was smiling. She pulled up a chair and seated herself next to Akko. "So you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the mysterious visions of the Fountain of Polaris."

"I didn't know it was call that, professor."

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"It – well – I had a vision about Shiny Chariot when she was in school – "

"And it showed Diana in the future, away from her family's name and happily living under another."

"How did you know - ?"

"Elma told me you both were in here last night," said Ursula gently. "I confronted Diana this morning and she confessed everything. Now, can you think what the Fountain of Polaris shows us all."

Akko shook her head.

"Let me explain. Many centuries ago, the Olde Nine Witch used the Fountain of Polaris to as a way of protecting themselves from the cruelties of the outside world. You see, at the time, people were frightened by the idea of Demi-Humans and the witch hunts turned friends into enemies. They didn't know who they could trust. So, the Olde Nine Witches would use the Fountain of Polaris for guidance. Does that give you any ideas?"

Akko thought. Then she said slowly, "The truth…it shows people the truth…."

"Well, yes and no," said Ursula quietly. "While the Fountain of Polaris can seek truth, it is more importantly a well of knowledge and peers through the past, present, and future. When you and Diana first gazed into the fountain, you both unconsciously sought answers to the lingering questions in your hearts. You, who dreamed of becoming a witch like Chariot, saw the many struggles she endured and how she overcame them. Diana, who is constantly burdened by the Cavendish name, saw herself in a life without carrying the weight of her family's legacy on her shoulders. The Fountain of Polaris can bestow upon the great magical knowledge of the stars unto the witch with hidden radiance. However, in the hands of immature witches like yourself and Diana, yet unworthy to wield its power, it can only show you small, meaningless visions."

"But it's not meaningless," Akko mumbled. "To see Shiny Chariot, who was hopeless and unskilled like me, work hard and grow stronger…it gives me hope that maybe someday I can be a great witch like her."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right," said Ursula with a small smile. "The Fountain will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Akko, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do_ run across it, you will now be prepared for the trials that come with it. I know you will be able to do it, Akko. You have a special power hidden deep inside you – the power to follow your dreams and to inspire others to follow theirs. Just remember, Akko, you don't have to do everything on your own. That is what friends are for. Now, why don't you put that impressive ring back on and get off to bed?"

Akko stood up.

"Um - Professor Ursula? Can I ask you something?"

"Blair would make a joke about how you already asked one," Ursula smiled. "But you may go ahead."

"Did you ever have a vision when you looked in the Fountain?"

"Once, when I was still in school. I saw an old friend and a miracle."

The cryptic answered lingered in Akko's head by the time she was back in bed and Lotte and Constanze had already gone to sleep waiting for her. She could have asked Ursula to elaborate, but then, she thought, as she shoved Blair sideways to make room for herself, it had been quite a personal question.

* * *

 **Finding a replacement for the Invisibility Cloak wasn't easy. I could have just gone with an invisibility potion like in the Chamber of Time, but it would be way too complicated to have to brew so many potions and it's completely out of Akko's realm of capability. I chose the Ring of Gyges because of the story behind it and how it would be used depending on the morality of those who use it.**

 **Next chapter: Claiomh Solais**


	13. Claiomh Solais

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Claiomh Solais**

Ursula had convinced Akko not to go looking for the Fountain of Polaris again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the Ring of Gyges stayed in its box at the bottom of her trunk. Akko wished she could forget what she'd seen in the fountain as easily, but she couldn't. She started having dreams – or were they visions? She started seeing flashes of Shiny Chariot in her normally dreamless sleep, memories of…something she definitely didn't see in the fountain. Over and Over again, she could see Chariot pulling her hand back from a golden bow and shouting the same incantation (" _ **Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!**_ ").

"I warned you that the Fountain was dangerous; it's driving you mad," said Diana, when Akko told her about these dreams.

Everyone else had different views of things. Lotte obviously agreed with Diana and concerned herself with Akko's mental health, but Sucy, who had come back the day before term started with Amanda and Jasminka, was dissatisfied that Akko hadn't at least collected a sample of the water for her experiments. Amanda was on Sucy's side and openly commented on how Akko should have stolen the Fountain on the first night she found it ("It's basically a crystal ball that can tell you anything!) Only Constanze and Jasminka displayed open disappointment that they hadn't even come close to finding out what Jellal was hiding.

They had almost given up hope of ever finding Jellal's secret treasure in a library book, even though Akko was still feeling like the answer was so close she could reach out and touch it. Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Akko had even less time than everyone else, because Chariot Race practice had started again.

Amelia was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen her spirits. Rajani and Rashmi complained that Amelia was becoming a fanatic, but Akko was on Amelia's side. If they won their next match, they would overtake Eclipse in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Akko found that she had fewer visions when she was tired out after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Amelia gave the team a bit of bad news. She'd just gotten very angry with Akko and Shooting Star, who kept dive-bombing and pretending to fall off.

"Will you stop messing around, Kagari!" she yelled. That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Professor Croix's refereeing this time, and I don't want to take the chance of her knocking off points just because you decide to be a showboat!"

Akko really did fall off Shooting Star at these words.

"Wait a minute, _Croix_ is refereeing?" she spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "I thought Professor Kiki was the one that refereed all of the Races."

"It's not uncommon for other teachers to take turns overseeing the matches," said Rashmi, landing next to Akko and helping her out of the mud. "Though it is a bit strange. Professor Croix has never been interested in refereeing a match before – she's always been too busy with her lab and such."

"And that's _exactly_ why we got to make sure we play a clean game," said Amelia. "We have no idea what kind of judge Croix will be, so we need to make sure not to give Croix a reason to hate us."

Which was all very well, thought Akko, but she had another reason for not wanting Croix near her while she was racing….

The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Akko headed straight back to the library, where she found Diana instruction the Polaris group on which books to search based on which categories. Diana had become even more relentless in finding out what Jellal was hiding since the holidays, seemingly taking it as a personal insult that she had yet to find the answer.

"Oh, good, practice is over I suppose," said Diana when Akko bound up to them. "I was just passing out assignments – " She caught sight of Akko's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

"That's nothing new," said Sucy mockingly.

Akko ignored the barb as she spoke quietly so that no one else would hear, telling them about Croix's sudden, sinister desire to be a racing referee.

"Don't play," said Lotte at once.

"Say you're sick," said Jasminka.

"Pretend to break your leg," Diana suggested.

"Or I could really break your leg for you," said Sucy.

"I can't," said Akko. "We don't have any reserve players on the team. If I back out, Polaris can't play at all."

"Ah, man, that really is a tough break," said Amanda, casually leaning back in her chair with her feet propped on the table, unwrapping a chocolate dragon. "So, anyone else thinking that Croix is looking for an excuse to knock Akko off her broom again."

"She wouldn't dare do it a second time," said Diana, "especially not when the entire school is watching her – it's too obvious and too risky. No, I think Croix will just want to make sure that Akko's team loses, maybe as a sort of revenge for what happened with the minotaur and the last match."

"That sounds kind of petty for someone who claims super genius," said Sucy. "Are you even sure that she's planning to do anything at the race? Diana's right – it's way too out in the open to try anything."

"My sister Alyssa says you should always expect the worst possible outcome so you can be better prepared for it," said Amanda, biting the head off her chocolate dragon furiously. "She's the brains of the family, so I'm not going to argue with her logic…. Aw sweet! I got a Shiny Chariot card! You know how super rare those things are!"

"Yeah, I remember you said that on the train," said Akko reminiscently. "Shiny Chariot was the first card I ever – "

She gasped. She suddenly reached across the table and snatched the card out of Amanda's hands ("Hey!") She stared at the back of the card. Then she looked up at Diana, mouth agape.

"Diana, did we ever find any books about research done by both Jellal Fernandes _and_ Shiny Chariot?" she asked her.

"Shiny Chariot very rarely wrote any papers on magical research," Diana answered, crossing her arms with her brow raised. "She spent more time performing in shows than actually submitting her notes. Any of the research she did submit was widely discredited before and after she disappeared. You won't find anything written by her in your local bookshop. But I fail to see what this has anything to do with Jellal Fernandes."

"Remember those visions I had in the Fountain of Polaris?" said Akko. "At first, I thought they were just showing me what Chariot was like because I wanted to learn how to be like her, but what if that's not all it was? What if the Fountain was giving me a clue? And listen to what the card says: _Shiny Chariot is particularly famous for her defeat of the Dark Master Xehanort, for her discovery of the Eto-Shin Dimension, and her work in Celestial Magics with her partner, Jellal Fernandes_ '!"

Diana's brow creased like it always did when she was in deep thought, then jumped to her feet and sprinted off somewhere towards the back end of the library. Akko and Lotte barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, carrying a small bundle of papers crudely stapled together.

"This explains why we were never able to find anything," she whispered thoughtfully. "We've been looking at textbooks and novels – research that had been publicly published. We never thought to look through the undergraduate theses archives, because who would expect a student to write something so important?"

"Are you going to explain what you're talking about?" asked Amanda irritably. "Or are you going to keep us guessing?"

"This," said Diana, holding up the stack of papers, "is a graduate thesis paper written by Chariot Du Nord – before she was known as Shiny Chariot – back when she was a student. She was working in conjunction with Jellal Fernandes, who was serving as a teacher for one year at the time. She wrote her thesis based on… _The Claiomh Solais_!" she finished with a dramatic pause for effect.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to stir her friends as much as she thought it would.

"The what?" said the Polaris girls.

"Oh, for the love of the Nine Olde Witches," grumbled Diana, rubbing the bridge of her nose to ward off the headache building. "I would have thought you of all people would understand, Akko. The Claiomh Solais – Shiny Chariot's Shiny Rod!"

"Chariot wrote a paper about Shiny Rod!" gasped Akko.

With an aggravated sigh, Diana flipped over the cover page and flicked through the sheets, muttering to herself. When she found what she was looking for, she pushed the thesis toward them, and Akko and the others read:

 _ **-none more ancient and powerful as the Claiomh Solais (also known as the Shiny Rod).**_  
 _ **Said to have been crafted by Woodward, the Claiomh Solais is forged from an unknown**_  
 _ **alloy that seems to absorb magical energy and redirect it in a similar fashion to a witch's**_  
 _ **wand. But most importantly, it is the only known vessel able to manipulate the Seven**_  
 _ **Stars of Arcturus without any negative effects upon the wielder.**_

 _ **The Seven Stars of Arcturus are a well-known legend said to be more fantasy than**_  
 _ **reality. While there is no substantial evidence behind the Seven Star's creation or their**_  
 _ **existence, all legends persist that each Star has the capacity to manipulate one of the**_  
 _ **Seven Fundamental Laws of Magic: Space, Time, Knowledge, Energy, Creation,**_  
 _ **Destruction, and Spirit.**_

 _ **When used separately, the Seven Stars can manipulate these aspects of magic**_  
 _ **according to the will of the user. However, there is danger in using the Stars**_  
 _ **without a suitable vessel to contain their enormous power, often resulting in**_  
 _ **the user suffering from physical or mental injury.**_

 _ **If one does manage to contain one of the Stars in a suitable vessel, then**_  
 _ **they would also require the knowledge of the Seven Words of Arcturus to**_  
 _ **free them. Legend says that if all Seven Words are spoken, those who**_  
 _ **wield the Claiomh Solais would have the power to change the world -**_

"It goes on from there to talk about various theories about how the Claiomh Solais was made and where the Seven Stars might be located," said Diana when Akko and the others finished reading. "The teachers obviously gave Chariot a failing grade, saying that it provided more fiction than actual facts. But Jellal Fernandes seemed to believe that Chariot was right, which is why he is credited as a source."

"Well, you can't blame them for being skeptical," said Sucy. "A magic wand that can essentially control reality itself; that a bit hard to swallow."

"But we definitely know that Shiny rod is real!" said Akko. "I've seen it in her shows! That must be what the polar bear is guarding! I bet Jellal and Chariot asked Professor Holbrooke to keep it safe for them, because she was a student here and she knew someone was after it. That's why she wanted the Shiny Rod moved out of the Department of Demi-Humans!"

"And Professor Croix would know about it since they were friends in school," said Jasminka, putting down her bucket for once, which you knew meant she was serious. "A magic wand that can change the world. No wonder she wants it so badly. _Anyone_ would want it."

"And the only thing stopping her is a giant polar bear on the third floor," said Amanda. "Is it too late to transfer to another school?"

* * *

The next morning in History of Magic, while copying down the names of famous Demi-Humans that fought with the Allied Nations in World War II, the Polaris girls were still discussing what they'd do with if they had the Shiny Rod. No one was surprised when Sucy said she would cover the whole world in mushrooms, but it wasn't until Amanda said she'd buy her own Racing team that Akko remembered about Croix and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," she told Lotte and Sucy during lunch. "If I don't, all of the other Houses will think I'm too scared to face Croix. I can already hear the Eclipse laughing at me. But I'll show them…it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the track," said Sucy.

* * *

As the match drew closer, however, Akko became more and more nervous, whatever he told Lotte or anyone else. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Eclipse in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but the enigmatic way that Croix was so insistent on refereeing the match made them all apprehensive that she might find a way to fault them in favor of keeping her own house in the lead.

Akko didn't know whether she was imagining it or not, but she seemed to keep running in Croix wherever she went. At times, she even wondered whether Croix was following her, trying to catch her on her own. During Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense, Croix seemed to gravitate around Akko as if fearing she might just vanish into thin air if she didn't pay attention. Could Croix possibly know they'd found out about the Shiny Rod? Akko didn't see how she could – yet she sometimes had the horrible feeling that Croix had eyes and ears everywhere in the school.

* * *

Akko knew, when they wished her good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Lotte and her friends were wondering whether they'd see her alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Akko hardly heard a word of Amelia's pep talk as she pulled on her Racing gear and called Shooting Star to her hand.

Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands looking grim and worried with the wands pulled out, drawing a number of curious stares from their classmates, but decided to ignore them. Little did Akko know that her best friends had been secretly practicing paralysis magic and were ready to use it on Croix if she showed any sign of wanting to hurt Akko.

"Now, don't forget, the spell is _**impediendum**_ ," Lotte muttered as she slipped her wand up her sleeve.

"Don't worry, we won't forget," said Jasminka assuring while Constanze nodded in agreement.

Back in the locker room, Amelia had taken Akko aside.

"Not to pressure you, Akko, but if there was ever a time for a quick win, now is the time. We'll be going by our usual play, but now we'll have to be even more careful because of Croix. I need you to focus only on the finish line. The moment you make the pass, I want you to break the sound barrier if you have to. Just make sure you finish before Croix can call you out for anything."

"Well, it's good that you're not trying to pressure me," said Akko sarcastically.

"The whole school's out there!" said Avery, peering out of the door. "Even – oh my god – Professor Holbrooke's come to watch!"

Akko's heart did a somersault.

" _Professor Holbrooke_?" she said, dashing to the door to make sure. Sakura was right. It was hard to see given how short she was, but there was no mistaking Holbrooke in the stands.

Akko could have laughed out loud with relief. She was safe. There was simply no way that Croix would dare to try to hurt her if the headmistress was watching.

Perhaps that was why Croix was looking in such a foul mood as the teams marched onto the track, something Lotte noticed, too.

"I've never seen Professor Croix look that mad before," she told Sucy. "Look – they're off. Ouch!"

Someone had poked Lotte in the back of the head. It was Hannah, shoving everyone out of their seats in the row behind them to make room for herself and Barbara. It was a surprise not seeing them hanging out with Diana, but Lotte assumed she was in the library studying up on the Shiny Rod.

"Oh, sorry, Yanson, didn't see you there. What with you having no presence and all."

"How long do you think Akko's going to stay on her broom this time?" said Barbara. "Anyone wanna bet? What about you, midget? What's that? You're gonna have to speak up."

Constanze made a rude gesture that didn't need translating. Meanwhile, the game had reached the fourth lap with Polaris pulling ahead into a significant lead by over a hundred and fifty points. So far, Croix had only made a few calls against Polaris and the other teams, but no one could argue that they weren't justified. She had been surprisingly fair during the match, but there was always the possibility that she was saving her wrath for Akko. Avery was shooting out of the "Factory Track" followed closely behind by Corona and making a breakaway towards Akko as the field activated the "Sandstorm Track".

"Hey, Hannah, how do you think they choose people for the Polaris team?" said Barbara loudly a few minutes later, when the Corona anchor blasted Akko in the back of the head with a spell, losing her lead.

"It's because they feel sorry for them," said Hannah snidely. "See, Akko's a complete dropout with no magical talent, then there's the twins, who are dirt poor, and Avery, whose dad ditched her – you should be on the team, Antonenko, since you're an unattractive fatty."

Amanda snarled and brought her fist up, but Jasminka calmly held her back.

"I'm not ashamed of being a little chubby," said Jasminka with a serene smile. "If anything, you should be embarrassed because you have no qualities that make you stand out and everyone just thinks of you as Diana's obsessive fans."

Amanda and Sucy howled with laughter while Constanze gave Jasminka a high-five; Hannah and Barbara were visibly bristled by the accusation. The whole exchange went ignored by Lotte, who were watching Akko intently.

"Tch, would have expected as much from a bunch of freaks and losers," said Barbara, crossing her arms. "That's the reason why you hang out together: because no one else wants you around."

Amanda's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Akko.

"I'm warning you two right now – one more word – "

"Akko!" said Lotte suddenly.

"What? What happened?"

The other teams had ganged up on Akko and shot her with spells from all four directions, which she unfortunately took and dropped Polaris's lead significantly – they weren't taking any more chances after seeing the last match. Lotte stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Akko shook her head from the delirium and streaked deeper into the storm.

"Hah! Even in a Chariot Race, Akko will always be a dead last loser – "

Amanda finally had enough. Before Hannah knew what was happening, Amanda jumped over the back of her seat and tackled her to the ground. Barbara tried to pull her off, but was suddenly bearhugged from behind by Jasminka as Constanze made a stun gun out of her gadget, shocking her violently. Sucy cackled softly as she watched, having lost interest in the race in favor of watching the girls pummel each other.

"Come on, Akko!" Lotte screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Akko sped past both the Eclipse and Lunar anchors and was hot on the Corona anchor's tail – she didn't even notice Amanda and Hannah rolling under her seat, or the scuffled and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Barbara, Jasminka, and Constanze.

Down on the track, Akko deftly dodged an oncoming barrage of spells the Corona anchor was shooting backwards, flattening herself against Shooting Star, and accelerating past her. A moment later, Akko pulled ahead just as they were approaching the finish line and crossed over seconds before the Corona anchor. The stands erupted with Polaris cheers while the Corona students became visibly deflated and groaned.

"Sucy! Sucy! Did you see that? The race's over! Akko won! We've won! Polaris is in the lead!" shrieked Lotte, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Sucy, who was grinning as Hannah landed a solid punch on Amanda's nose.

Akko jumped off Shooting Star, a foot from the ground. She couldn't believe it. She'd done it – the game was over and she had barely been called for anything. They didn't have quite the lead they were hoping for, but it was still a victory. As Polaris students came spilling onto the field, she saw Croix land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped – then Akko felt a hand on her elbow and looked down into Professor Holbrooke's smiling face.

"Well done," said Professor Holbrooke quietly, so that only Akko could hear. "Professor Ursula was worried that you might still be brooding about the Fountain, but it seems you've kept yourself busy enough. Croix was as well when she heard too, you know?"

Akko found that hard to believe when Croix was leering at her from a distance.

* * *

Akko left the locker room alone sometime later, to take Shooting Star back to Elma's office. She couldn't ever remember feeling happier. She'd really done something to be proud of now – no one could say she didn't belong in Luna Nova anymore. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. She walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in her head, which was a happy blur; Polaris running to lift her onto their shoulders; her friends in the distance, jumping up and down, Amanda cheering through a heavy nosebleed.

Akko stopped along the trail in a moment of reflection. She leaned against Shooting Star and looked up Luna Nova, with its windows glowing red in the setting Sun. Polaris was in the lead. She'd done it, she had shown Croix….

And speaking of Croix…

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the Arcturus Forest. She recognized the figure's prowling walk. Croix, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner – what was going on?

Akko jumped back onto Shooting Star and took off. Gliding silently over the castle she saw Croix enter the forest at a run. She followed.

The trees were so thick she couldn't see where Croix had gone. She flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until she heard voices. She glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering birch tree.

She climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to Shooting Star, trying to see through the leaves.

Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Croix, but she wasn't alone. Professor Ursula was there, too, and so was Blair. Akko felt like she had a bucket of ice water dumped down her back; Blair was working with Croix? Akko couldn't make out the look on her face, but there was an obvious bite to her words. Akko strained to catch what they were saying.

"…know why you want to meet here of all places, Croix…"

"You know exactly why we're meeting here, Blair," said Croix, her voice icy. "It's your fault they know about Jellal in the first place. Students aren't supposed to know the Claiomh Solais exists."

Akko leaned forward. Ursula separated them, mumbling something, but Croix interrupted her.

"All I need to know is if there is any way to get past Arcas."

"But Croix, I – "

"You do not want to piss me off more than I already am, Ursula," said Croix, taking a step toward her.

"Step off, Croix, or we'll have a problem," said Blair threateningly.

"Oh, you would love that, wouldn't you?"

An owl hooted loudly, and Akko nearly fell out of the tree. She steadied herself in time to hear Croix say, " – her, too. And I will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means going through the trails by myself."

"Croix, that's enough," said Ursula firmly. Akko could only see the back of her head, but when Ursula removed her glasses, Croix visibly clenched up. "There is nothing for us to talk about. You've made your decision and we've made ours. There is nothing left but to go our own ways now. Come on, Blair, let's go back to dinner before anyone wonders where we are."

Ursula put her glassed back on and strode out of the clearing with Blair running to catch up with her pace. It was almost dark now, but Akko could see Croix, standing quite still with her fists shaking at her sides.

* * *

"Akko, where have you _been_?" Lotte squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Amanda, thumping Akko on the back. "And I gave one of Diana's groupies a black eye – don't know which one, but I'm still very proud of it. That other one, though, took on both Jasminka and Constanze single-handedly – gotta give her credit for that! Everyone's a little banged up and Porlyusica was really pissed at us and Diana's probably gonna chew us out for starting a fight, but it was worth it! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, we stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Forget about the food," said Akko breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this…."

She made sure Mxyz wasn't inside before shutting the door behind her, then she told them what she'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it is the Shiny Rod, and Croix's trying to force Ursula to help her get it. She asked if she knew how to get past Arcas, but Ursula wasn't talking. She even tried to get Blair to say something, but that didn't work either. She also said there was something about trails, so that must mean there are other things guarding the Shiny Rod apart from Arcas, loads of enchantments, probably, but the only thing Croix is having a problem with is getting past Arcas – "

"So you mean the Shiny Rod is only safe as long as Ursula stands up to Croix?" said Lotte in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Sucy dryly.

* * *

 **I've taken a few liberties with the Shiny Rod since in the source material it's only ever been a convenient tool for specific situations. Each of their crystals have their own unique abilities, which I drew heavily upon items like the Infinity Stones and the relics from RWBY. They are the main driving force for he heroes and villains of the series.**

 **Next Chapter: Eco the Royal Dragon**


	14. Eco the Royal Dragon

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Eco the Royal Dragon**

Ursula, however, must have had a stronger backbone than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed she did seem to become more guarded and jumped at the slightest noise, but it didn't look as though she had cracked yet.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Akko and her friends would press their ears to the door to check that Arcas was still growling inside. Croix was sweeping about in a bad temper, which surely meant that the Shiny Rod was still safe. Whenever Akko passed Ursula these days she gave her an encouraging sort of smile, and Amanda had started threatening people for laughing behind Ursula's back, which work really well considering Constanze had a giant mechanical monster waiting in the wings.

Diana, however, had more on her mind than the Shiny Rod. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coded notes for everyone from Hannah and Barbara, to Akko and her friends, and even the entire Polaris House. She made it vehemently clear that no one associated with her would disgrace her by getting bad grades

"Wouldn't want to disgrace the perfect Diana Cavendish," Akko muttered sarcastically one day when Diana forced her to attend a private tutoring session.

"Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time acting like a child, you'd get better grades!" snapped Diana. "Hurry up, this will be on the exam, I just know it!"

"Diana, the exams are ages away!" Akko whined.

"TEN WEEKS!" Diana howled madly, making Akko fall out of her seat with a frightened shriek. "It's not ages away! It's in ten weeks!"

"Okay, okay, don't blow a vessel," said Akko, trying to appease her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know everything."

"What am I studying for?" yelled Diana; Akko pressed herself flat on the floor. "Are you out of your mind? No, wait, of course you are! Do you even realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year and you've barely made any progress in your metamorphism magic! We should have started studying over a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…."

"Wait…are you doing all this…for me?" Akko asked, blinking owlishly.

"Just…sit up and start working on the problem," said Diana, huffing and looking away, but with a noticeable redness on her cheeks.

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Diana. They piled so much homework on them that Akko spent most of her Easter holidays at home locked up in her room trying to power through it all just so she could spend the final day out with her friends before heading back to school. Even Lotte seemed to be just as nervous as Diana, constantly reciting the twenty-seven different uses for dragon scales or practicing wand movements. Even Sucy and Jasminka, who usually did whatever they wanted, were busying themselves learning everything they could for the upcoming exams. Akko and Amanda spent most of their free time in the library with them, trying to get through all their extra work.

"I'll never remember this," Amanda burst out one afternoon, throwing down her pen and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

Akko, who was looking up "Dittany" in _One Thousand and One Herbs and Fungi_ , didn't look up until a streak of purple clattered across the polished stone floor and tackled Akko in the chest, knocking her backwards in her chair. Akko rubbed the swelling that was forming on her head when she noticed Blair, in cat form, was looking up at her, teary-eyed.

"Akko-nyan, help me! I'm gonna die!"

"Wait, what?" sputtered Akko.

"Oh, Blair, there you are!"

Ursula came dashing into view around the bookshelves and quickly ripped Blair away from Akko; her tiny cat claws tore several holes in her tunic. Blair hissed and flailed, but Ursula scratched a place behind Blair's ear that quietly soothed her.

"Sorry about that," Ursula apologized. "I um…simply made a suggestion that Blair's fur was getting dirty and she should take a bath, but…well…."

Ursula was always a terribly liar; Akko and the others quickly picked it up almost immediately. Out of the corner of her eye, Akko noticed that Ursula was holding a large, leather-bound book at her side. Before she could make out the loopy lettering, Ursula quickly tucked it behind her back.

"So…what are you children up to?" asked Ursula, suddenly looking just as suspicious as them. "You're not still looking for Jellal Fernades, are you?"

"Oh, we found out about him _and_ Shiny Chariot a long time ago," said Akko impressively. " _And_ we know what that polar bear's guarding, it the Shiny R – "

" _Shhhh_!" Ursula looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "You shouldn't be shouting something like that in a public area."

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Sucy piped up, "about what's guarding the Shiny Rod apart from that bear – "

"SHHHH!" said Ursula again. "Listen – come and see me later, I'm not promising I'll tell you anything, of course, but please don't go saying anything more about it here. Students aren't supposed to know. They'll think I've told you – "

"See you later, then," said Lotte.

Ursula shuffled off carrying Blair and her book.

"What was she hiding behind her back?" said Jasminka thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Shiny Rod?" asked Lotte.

"I'm going to see what section she was in," said Amanda, who'd had enough of working. She came back a minute later with a pile of books in her arms and slammed them down on the table.

" _Dragons_!" she whispered. "Professor Ursula was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: _Dragon Species of the Mystical and Natural World; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide._ "

"Why would Professor Ursula be looking up dragons when she could just as Elma about anything?" said Akko.

Constanze flipped through the pages herself and Amanda translated her silent language: "Constanze says that a lot of these books are about identifying dragon species by the appearance of their eggs and how to take care of them after they've hatched. But owning a dragon – especially a baby dragon – was made illegal by the Magic Council back in the 1700s, when the Imperial Dragon Houses of Avalon and Demise nearly declared war on humanity for poaching their eggs. Nowadays, baby dragons stay in the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom until they reach maturity. My sister Aurora started an internship there last month to nurse baby dragons and you should see the burns she's got off the wild ones."

"You don't think Ursula and Blair might have gotten themselves one of those eggs?" asked Jasminka.

"If they did, they would be in so much trouble with the magic council," said Amanda. "Forget about losing her job; they'd both be thrown in jail for something like that."

"At least the Rod would be safe," said Sucy dryly.

* * *

When they knocked on the door of Ursula's tower an hour later, they were surprised that Ursula didn't immediately let them in and had to ask for identification before she would even consider opening the door.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Blair was sitting as close to the fire as possible, her eyes never wavering from the flickering flames, while Ursula made them tea and delicate finger sandwiches – Ursula was a surprisingly good cook.

"So – you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yeah," said Akko. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Shiny Rod besides Arcas."

Ursula frowned at her.

"Of course I can't," she said. "Number one, I don't know myself. Number two, you know too much already, so I wouldn't tell you if I could. The Claiomh Solais is here for a good reason. It was almost stolen from the Department of Demi-Humans – I suppose you've worked that part out for yourselves. It's a wonder how you even know about Arcas in the first place."

"Oh, come on, professor, you might not want to tell us, but you _do_ know, you know everything that goes on around here," said Amanda in a warm, flattering voice. The corners of Ursula's lips twitched as if she was fighting back the urge to smile. "We were only wondering had _done_ the guarding, is all." Amanda went on. "We were just wondering who Holbrooke trusted enough to help her, apart from you."

Ursula's chest swelled at these last words. Akko had to admit, Amanda was a smooth talker.

"Well, I don't suppose it could hurt to tell you that…let's see…she borrowed Arcas from me…then some of the other teachers did enchantments…Professor Cosmos – Professor Kowata – Professor Finnelan – " she ticked them off on her fingers, "Professor Lenz – and Professor Holbrooke herself did something, of course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Croix added her own defenses as well."

" _Croix?_ "

"Yes…wait, you still don't believe Croix is up to something bad, do you? Blair told me all about it, and I think it's preposterous. Croix helped _protect_ Shiny Rod, she's not about to steal it."

Akko knew Lotte and the others were thinking the same as she was. If Croix had been in on protecting Shiny Rod, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. She probably knew everything – except, it seemed, how to get past Arcas.

"You're the only one who know how to get past Arcas, aren't you, Professor?" said Lotte anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"I've been doing this sort of thing for a long time, Miss Jansson," said Ursula seriously. "I know how to keep a secret, even from my own friends."

"Well, that's good, at least," said Jasminka, tugging at her collar with a grimace. "Professor, can we open a window? It feels like I'm being boiled alive."

"I'm sorry, Miss Antonenko, but I'm afraid I can't do that," said Ursula. Akko noticed her glance at the fire Blair was sitting in front of. Akko looked at it, too.

"Professor Ursula – what's _that_?"

But she already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, marble-white egg.

"Ah," said Ursula, fiddling nervously with her dress. "That's – er…"

"Oh my god!" Sucy suddenly shouted, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg with a wide grin of glee. "Where did you get this! It must have cost you a fortune!"

"Actually, Blair is the one that brought it back, even though I told her not to!" Ursula said pointedly to the back of Blair's head.

"It's not my fault!" snapped Blair. "It was too dark to see what it was! Look, Ursula and I went into town for a few drinks and I got caught up in a game of cards with a stranger. I won, obviously. The guy gave it to me as a prize…and I might have been a little tipsy that I didn't realize what I had just won. I only figured it out after my hangover."

"You do realize what's going to happen if someone finds out you have a dragon egg, right?" Amanda translated Constanze's sign language. "What are you going to do with it if it hatches?"

"That's why we were in the library this morning," said Ursula, pulling a large book from under the table. "It would be ideal to get rid of the egg before it hatches, but sneaking it out of Luna Nova might not be so easy. If it comes to it, we'll take care of it until we can figure out a safe way to remove it from the school. This book says to keep the egg in the fire, because their mothers breathe on them, and when it hatches, feed it on a bucket of whisky mixed with chicken blood every half hour. Though it says that when the dragon reaches a certain age, they must have a diet specific to their species. But Blair and I have been looking and we can't find anything that resembles the shell's pattern – or lack of, in this case."

"That's because this isn't an ordinary dragon egg - you won't find this in a book," said Sucy, looking unnaturally cheerful. "This is an egg belonging to the Avalon's Holy Dragon Imperial Family. You basically kidnapped an egg from one of the two most powerful dragon families in the world."

Blair purple fur suddenly looked extremely pale.

"I'M GONNA DIE!" Blair cried.

* * *

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Ursula and Blair if anyone found out they were hiding an illegal dragon egg, especially one considered to be royalty.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Lotte sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Diana's study schedules were the only thing that made it more slightly bearable. Akko considered telling Diana about the dragon egg, but everyone quickly shot the idea down – Diana may be their semi-friend now, but her family was still influential among the magic council and would no doubt report a stolen dragon egg.

Then, one day at breakfast time, Wangari brought a letter from Blair. She had written only two words: _it's hatching_.

Akko and Amanda wanted to skip Basic Herbalism and go straight up to Ursula's tower, but Lotte and the others wouldn't hear of it.

"Lotte," Akko whined childishly. "I don't wanna go to class. I wanna see a dragon egg – a dragon egg! How many times are we ever going to see one hatch?"

"We've got lessons to go to," said Lotte firmly. "We'll get in trouble if we're caught skipping, not to mention what kind of trouble Professor Ursula's going to be in when someone finds out what she's doing – "

"Shut up!" Amanda whispered.

Diana, Hannah, and Barbara were walking by their table slowly and paused only for a moment to listen. How much had she heard? The way Diana was staring at her made Akko's stomach flip, and not in the good way.

Akko and Lotte argued all the way to Basic Herbalism and in the end, Lotte agreed to run up to Ursula's room with the others during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the six of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds, through the entrance hall, and up the spiral staircase. Ursula greeted them, looking flushed and sweating from her brow.

"It's nearly out," She ushered them inside.

They found Blair crouched at the table, poking her eyes over the edge at the egg like a curious kitten. There were deep cracks in the egg. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.

They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. The girls cooed and awed at the sight. Akko thought the baby dragon looked more like a squishy plush toy she had back at her room in Japan. The little creature was small and pudgy with fleshy-white skin (turns out dragons didn't start growing scales until the toddler stage). It's tiny wings flapped like a pair of feathers and tiny horn buds on its head. The baby dragon blinked as it slowly opened its eyes – they were red.

It sneezed. A powerful gust of wind blew Akko into the wall.

"Owie…," Akko whined.

"It's just the cutest thing ever," said Jasminka gleefully. She picked up the baby dragon by its armpits and held it up to her face. It blinked its bulbous red eyes and tilted its head curiously.

"It's like a little puppy," Lotte cooed, stroking the dragon's head with her finger.

"Ugh, no scales, what a letdown," Sucy complained. Only she could find a cute baby dragon disappointing. "Hey, cat girl, how long does it take for dragons to mature?"

Blair was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from her face – she leapt to her feet and threw open the door.

"What's the matter?" asked Jasminka.

"Someone was looking through the gap in the door – it's a kid – she's running back downstairs."

Akko bolted to the door and looked out with Blair. They were too far away to see and she only saw a slip of their cloak before they disappeared around the corner.

Their worst fears had been realized; someone had seen the dragon.

* * *

Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka were on edge for the entire week that passed since the dragon egg had hatched. They didn't have the slightest clue who had seen the dragon, but it looked like they hadn't told anyone about it since none of them were expelled and Ursula still had her job. They spent most of their free time in Ursula's room, trying to find a way to fix this mess before they got caught.

"Just let her go," Akko urged. "Set her free."

"Are you insane?" said Blair "She's only a week old; she'd never survive on her own. And more than that, she belongs to the Avalon's Holy Dragon Imperial Family. Our punishment is gonna be a lot worse than going to jail if anything happens to her."

They looked at the dragon. It had grown twice as big in just a week. It started flapping its wings more often, managing to float a foot off the ground before flopping back down. Blair hadn't been back to the Polaris dorms in over a week because the dragon was keeping her so busy. There were empty bottles of whiskey and chicken feathers all over Ursula's floor.

"I came up with a name for her today," said Blair as she tried teaching the dragon to walk on two legs. "Her name is Eco Aurora-Christa Pendragon Lena Anherusu-Ilya Roransu Liliane-Muriel-Octavia-Robertine de la Rosa Resuperansu van de Compostela Avalon. Or you can call her Eco for short."

"She's lost her marbles," Amanda muttered in Akko's ear.

"Blair," said Akko loudly, "give it two weeks and Eco's going to be the size of Ursula's room. Whoever saw her could go to Holbrooke at any moment."

"You think I don't know that?" said Blair with a bit of bite in her tone. "Getting Eco out of Luna Nova should be easy if done right, but the problem is what to do with her after. It's not like I can just call a taxi to the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom without someone noticing."

Akko suddenly turned to Amanda.

"Aurora," she said.

"Okay, now you're losing it," said Amanda. "I'm Amanda, remember?"

"No – Aurora – your sister, Aurora. You said she took an internship taking care of baby dragons in the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom last month. We could send Eco to her. Aurora can slip her in with the other baby dragons she's taking care of and nobody would know it was us who took her."

"That's brilliant!" said Amanda. "How about it, Blair?"

And in the end, Blair agreed that it would be a better idea to send a text to Aurora to ask her.

* * *

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Akko, Lotte, and Sucy sitting alone in the common room after Constanze and Jasminka decided to head to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the archway pulled open. Amanda appeared out of nowhere as she pulled off Akko's Ring of Gyges. She had been up in Ursula's tower, helping her feed Eco, who was showing an appetite for sweets, especially crepes of all things.

"She bit me!" she said, showing them her hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not gonna be able to ride a broom for a week. I tell you, that dragon has it out for me. I was just trying to snag a crepe for myself and then it suddenly chomped down on my fingers. And then Blair somehow makes it sound like it was my fault for trying to take one of her sweets."

"Well, it does kinda sound like your fault," said Akko.

There was a sudden chime in Amanda's pocket.

"It's from Aurora," said Amanda, pulling out her cellphones and checking her inbox. "Let's see what she has to say."

The four of them put their heads together to read the text:

 **Dear Sister Amanda,**

 **How are you? Are you eating well? How is your aura? I hope you remember your daily cleansing exercises. No one wants a dingy aura.**

 **Thank you for the letter – I'd be glad to take the Holy Avalon Dragon back to the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom- they've been in dire  
straits when it turned up missing. But it won't be easy getting her here. I think the best thing will be to send her over with some  
friends of mine who are coming to visit next week. Trouble is, they can't be seen carrying an illegal dragon, especially not an  
Imperial Holy Dragon.**

 **Could you bring the Holy Dragon up the western observation tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take her  
away while it's still dark.**

 **Send me an answer as soon as possible.**

 **Yours in love and peace,  
Aurora.**

"Ugh, even in a text, her hippiness still comes through," Amanda grimaced.

"Who cares?" said Akko. "We have a plan now. We can use the Ring of Gyges to conceal two of us and Eco and carrying her up to the western tower without anyone spotting us.

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that Lotte and Sucy willingly agreed with one of Akko's harebrained schemes. Anything to get rid of Eco.

* * *

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Amanda's bitten hand had started to become thin and pale with her veins slowly becoming exposed under her skin. She didn't know whether it was safe to go to Porlyusica – would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, she had no choice. Amanda started showing signs of magical deficiency and came close to passing out during History of Magic. It was then that Sucy casually mentioned Holy Dragons drain magic with their bites.

Akko, Constanze, and Jasminka rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Amanda in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," she whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Someone came in here this afternoon while Porlyusica was out gather herbs to make more medicine. I didn't see who it was because I was high on drugs and elixirs to cure my magical deficiency, but I could hear her having a good laugh and threatened to tell Porlyusica what really bit me – I told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me. It could be really bad if whoever it is blabs to anyone."

Akko and Jasminka tried to calm Amanda down while Constanze gave her a shoulder massage with her robot.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Jasminka, but this didn't soothe Amanda at all. On the contrary, she sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" she said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no – oh no – I've just remembered – my phone was open when that person came in – she would have seen the text we got from Aurora. They know we're getting rid of Eco."

Akko, Jasminka, and Constanze didn't get a chance to answer. Porlyusica came over at the moment and made them leave, saying Amanda needed sleep.

* * *

"It's too late to change the plan now," Akko told Lotte and Sucy. "Aurora's friends are already on their way, and this could be our only chance to get Eco back home before we're arrested. We'll have to risk it. And we _have_ got the Ring of Gyges and Constanze is going to have her Stanbot on lookout so no one can surprise us. They don't know about that."

They found Blair in her cat form being chased by a flapping Eco while Ursula was running around cleaning up everything they were running into.

"Blair thought it would be a fun little idea for Eco to get some exercise," Ursula huffed. "I just wish she wouldn't do it at the expense of my living quarters."

When they told her about Aurora's text, her eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Blair and Eco had just knocked over her priceless, one-of-a-kind crystal figure.

"Oh no, it's all right – it's just an irreplaceable treasure I got as a graduation gift from my parents – I was thinking about remodeling anyway."

Blair zipped sideways and Eco smacked into the wall, rattling the room and making the nearby bookshelf fall over. Akko, Lotte, and Sucy walked back to the dormitory feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

* * *

Akko and Jasminka would have felt sorry for Blair when the time came for her to say good-bye to Eco if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Ursula's room because they had to wait for Mxyz to get out of their way on the fifth floor, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Luckily, Constanze – controlling her Stanbot remotely from the dorms – had tricked Mxyz back to his own dimension by recording his voice and making him say his name backwards.

Blair had Eco packed and ready in a large crate.

"She's got lots of crepes and a bottle of whiskey for the journey," said Blair, sniffling. Despite the circumstances, Blair had really bonded with the dragon. "And I packed her favorite stuffed dragon in case she gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Akko as though the stuffed dragon was having his head torn off

"Bye-bye, Eco!" Blair sobbed, as Akko and Jasminka lifted the crate with a hand each, concealing it within the Ring's charm range. "Mommy will never forget you!"

"Blair, please," groaned Ursula.

How they managed to get the crate all the way to the other side of the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked closer as they heaved Eco up the spiral staircase and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another – even one of Stanbot's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Akko panted as they reached the corridor beneath the western tower.

Then Stanbot suddenly stopped them when it noticed a sudden movement ahead of them. Akko nearly dropped the crate right there, forgetting that they were already invisible. They shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor Finnelan, in a tartan nightgown and a hairnet, was pulling Diana by the wrist.

"I have never felt so disappointed in your Diana!" she shouted. "To think that you would do something so irresponsible! I hate to do this, but you will have to be punished accordingly – if other students start thinking you can do whatever you want around the castle, they'll start to think they can as well! An example must be made!"

"You don't understand, professor. I heard that someone is coming – that they have a dragon!"

"What has happened to you, Diana? Oh, I bet Kagari was somehow involved with this" – Jasminka slapped a hand over Akko's mouth before she could shout – "You can rest assured that your mother will hear about this."

The crate carrying Eco seemed twice as heavy when they were carrying it up the steep spiral staircase, weighed down by guilt knowing that Diana was in trouble because of something they did. It wasn't until they had stepped out into the cold night air did Akko pull off her ring, leaning against the ramparts with a heavy heart.

"Great, just when I thought this night couldn't get any worse," moaned Akko.

"So it was Diana who saw Amanda's text in the hospital wing?" asked Jasminka.

"Nah, it couldn't have been," said Akko. "If Diana had found out about Eco, she would have confronted us straight away. Someone set her up."

But they had no idea who could have been so devious enough to get Diana in trouble. Everyone in Luna Nova practically worshiped Diana as if she were the goddess incarnate. They waited with much on their minds while Eco thrashed around in her crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Now Akko understood why Amanda called her sister a hippie. Aurora's friends fit the American stereotype well with their shaggy long hair, tie-dye shirts and peace signs. They showed Akko and Jasminka the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Eco between them. They all helped buckle Eco safely into it and then Akko and Jasminka shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Eco was going…going… _gone_.

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Eco was off them. They had no more dragon to deal with, but there was the consequence of Diana's punishment. Akko couldn't imagine what else could happen tonight.

Unfortunately, the answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Stanbot was dropped at their feet, beaten and broke, as Elma's enraged face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Atsuko Kagari, Jasminka Antonenko," she whispered in a restrained voice. "I hope you two have a good explanation for this."

They had left Akko's ring on the top of the tower

* * *

 **A little more world building and intrdocuing a recurring character, Eco. Unlike her source material counterpart, I intend for Eco to come back with a very critical role in the future, so this won't be the last time we see her.**

 **Next chapter: The Arcturus Forest**


	15. The Arcturus Forest

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Fifteen: The Arcturus Forest**

Things could not have been worse.

Elma took them down to Professor Finnelan's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without a word to each other. Akko was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around her brain, each feebler than the last. She couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the ring? There was no reason on earth that Professor Finnelan would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the western observation tower, which was out of bounds except for classes. Add Eco and the Ring of Gyges, and they might as well be packing their bags already.

Had Akko thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong. When Professor Finnelan appeared, she was leading Constanze by the nape of her tunic. She dropped the short girl in the chair next to Akko, walked around her desk, and threw Constanze's broken Stanbot on it. Given her innate talent for accidentally causing chaos in class, Akko was far used to seeing Professor Finnelan furious at her, but this was on a completely different level. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Eco as she towered over the three of them.

"Normally, I would be shocked that a student would even think of doing something like this, but considering that it's you, Kagari, not so much. Elma says you were up in the western observation tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. _Explain yourselves_."

Akko really wished Amanda was here. At least she would have pulled out some kind of an excuse instead of just sitting there, still as a statue, with her mouth agape, but no sound coming through.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's going on," said Professor Finnelan. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Diana Cavendish some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get her out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught her. I suppose you thought it was funny to embarrass Diana like that, didn't you? Wanted to have a good laugh?"

Akko felt angered at Finnelan's accusation. They didn't know that Diana was going to be there – someone else had set her up. But if Akko told her that, then Finnelan would ask what they were doing in the western observation tower if it wasn't to prank Diana. Akko wouldn't be able to answer without telling them about Blair and Eco and if she refused to explain, then Finnelan would punish them harder. This was a no-win situation.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor Finnelan. "Four students out of bed in one night! I haven't heard such a thing since Chariot Du Nord and her group of delinquent friends attended here – that is not a compliment, Kagari. Well, you can all rest assured that you will be receiving detentions and fifty points will be taken from Polaris."

"Fifty?" Akko gasped – they would lose the lead, the lead she'd won in the last race.

"Fifty points _each_ ," said Professor Finnelan, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor – please – "

"You can't – "

"You don't tell me what I can and cannot do, Kagari. Be grateful that none of you are in my house or I would have all three of you expelled. I will be informing Professor Ursula about this. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Luna Nova students."

A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Polaris in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance of Polaris had for the house cup. Akko felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. How could they ever make up for this?

Akko didn't sleep all night. Constanze, who almost never made any sound, could be heard sliding into Jasminka's bed and sobbing for what seemed like hours. Akko couldn't think of anything to say to comfort her. She knew Constanze and Jasminka, like herself, were dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Polaris found out about what they'd done?

At first, Polaris students passing the five point counters for each house on the wall of the entrance hall the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Atsuko Kagari, their hero of two Chariot Races, had lost them all those points, her and a couple of other stupid first years.

Akko had started out as the most ridiculed, but still likeable student in Luna Nova, then went on to be more popular and admired through Chariot Races, and now she was back down to being the most hated. Even the Corona and Twilight houses turned on her, because everyone had been longing to see Eclipse lose the cup. Everywhere Akko went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted her. Eclipse, on the other hand, clapped as she walked past them, whistling and cheer. Lunar house was particularly spiteful towards Akko, having gotten their golden child Diana Cavendish in trouble with them. And speaking of Diana, the pretty blonde girl had suddenly reverted to her old ways before the minotaur attack, turning her nose up at Akko and giving her the cold shoulder whenever they ran into each other.

Only her dormmates stood by her.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks," said Sucy, being uncharacteristically supportive. "Amanda and her gang lose loads of points all the time, and people still like them."

"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one night, have they?" said Akko miserably.

"Well, they have now, thanks to you," said Sucy; Akko groaned wretchedly.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Akko swore to herself not to meddle in things that weren't her business from now on. She'd had it with sneaking around and spying. She felt so ashamed of herself that she went to Amelia and offered to resign from the Chariot team.

"Resign?" Amelia thundered. "What good will that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at the races?"

But even Chariot Racing had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Akko during practice, and if they had to speak about her, they called her "the Anchor".

Constanze and Jasminka were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Akko, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them outside of Amanda, either. Jasminka had been eating a lot less recently and visibly started losing weight overnight, which could not have been a good sign, and Constanze couldn't bring herself to fix Stanbot or work on any secret projects because she was so depressed.

Akko was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying she had to do kept her mind off her misery. Without Diana to set up study schedules for them, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy had to work out everything for themselves since Amanda was naturally lazy and Constanze and Jasminka were too sad to help. They worked late into the night, trying to remember ingredients in complicated elixirs, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and demi-human involvement in bloody wars….

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Akko's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern her was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on her own one afternoon, she heard two voices yelling from a classroom up ahead. As she drew closer, she could hear that the voices belong to Ursula and Croix.

" – holding back on me! Because I swear – "

"You'll what, Croix? What are you going to do? I have nothing to tell you, so leave it be!"

"All right – all right – but just remember that I warned you – "

Next second, Croix came hurrying out of the classroom with her cape fluttering behind her. Her face was red from yelling and her brow was lowered in a scowl. She strode out of sight; Akko didn't think Croix had even noticed her. She waited until Croix's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. Ursula was straightened her glasses and throwing her long blue hair over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in a scowl like Croix's. Akko was considering going inside and confronting Ursula on the exchange before she remembered what she'd promised herself about not meddling.

All the same, she'd have gambled twelve Shiny Rods that Croix had been interrogating Ursula inside the classroom, but the scowl on her face made it seem that she didn't get what she wanted. Akko should have felt relieved by this, but anger and frustration seemed like they would only make Croix more dangerous.

Akko went back to the library, where Lotte was testing Sucy on Astronomy. Akko told them what she'd heard.

"Croix is getting desperate," said Sucy. "She probably doesn't have long before the Shiny Rod is moved. She'll probably try to take it soon – "

"But she doesn't know how to get past Arcas, though," said Lotte.

"Croix could probably find some way to do it without having to ask Ursula," said Sucy, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "She's a genius, remember? I bet if she doesn't find anything about it in all these books, then she could just look it up on the internet or invent something like a magic tank to take it out. So what are you going to do, Akko?"

The light of adventure was kindling again in Sucy's eyes, but Lotte answered before Akko could.

"Go to Professor Holbrooke. That's what we should have done in the first place. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got no proof!" said Akko. "Ursula and Blair still think that Croix is there friend for some reason; they won't back us up. Croix's only got to say she doesn't know anything about the minotaur attack us on Halloween and that she was nowhere near the third floor – who do you think they'll believe, her or us? We're not exactly model students. Professor Holbrooke will think we made it up to get her fired. Elma wouldn't help us if her life depended on it, she's too friendly with Croix, and she hasn't exactly been forgiving of us since we were caught the night Eco left. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Shiny Rod or Arcas. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Lotte looked convinced, but Sucy didn't.

"If we just do a little poking around – "

"No," said Akko flatly, "We've done enough poking around."

She pulled a map of Jupiter toward her and started to learn the names of its moons.

* * *

The following morning, notes were delivered to Akko, Jasminka, and Constanze at breakfast. They were all the same:

 _ **Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.  
Meet Elma in the entrance hall**_

 _Professor U. Callistis_

Akko had forgotten they still had detentions to do in furor over the points they'd lost. Neither Jasminka nor Constanze seemed to have any reason to complain about having to serve detention so late into the night. Like Akko, they felt they deserved what they'd got.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda in the common room and went down to the entrance hall. Elma was already there – and so was Diana. Akko had also forgotten that Diana had gotten detention, too, since they didn't talk any more.

"Follow me," said Elma, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I can't believe you would do something like this, Kagari – no, wait, I do believe it because Tohru obvious influenced you," she said, leering at Akko. "That dastardly chaos dragon always causing trouble for everyone. Well, I'm sure tonight will straighten you out. Hard work and pain have always been the best teachers in my experience. I only regret that I could not discipline you personally – I have some methods from my old teachers that would knock the discord from your systems – but Professor Holbrooke has other plans for you. Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

They marched off across the dark grounds. Jasminka kept sniffing. Akko wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Elma wouldn't be sounding so delighted.

The moon was bright, but the clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Akko could see a small bonfire on the edge of the Arcturus forest. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Elma? Hurry up, I wanna get started."

Akko didn't know whether to relieved or worried that they were going to be working with Professor Ymir Lenz. The history professor, who usually dressed carefree and lazy, was decked out in what appeared to be a military uniform with a symbol on the back of her tattered brown jacket that looked like a pair of intersecting wings. She was wearing a strange harness with a pair of boxes at her sides – she looked like she was preparing to go to war. When she noticed Akko staring, she smirked and leaned in close, saying, "Ooh, the little girl intimidated by teacher's big weapon? Good. You're gonna need that. We're going into the forest tonight and there's a good chance you might not come out in one piece."

At this, Jasminka let out a little moan, and Constanze stopped dead in her tracks.

"The forest?" Diana repeated, and she didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night – there's all sorts of things in there – werewolves, I heard."

Jasminka and Constanze clutched to either one of Akko's sleeves; Constanze made a chocking noise.

"The werewolves are harmless compared to what else is in there," said Ymir, her voice cracking with amusement. "You should have thought about what goes bump in the night before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

"Okay, I think you've terrified them enough, Professor Lenz," said Elma. "They're in your care for tonight – you will be expected to take responsibility for whatever happens to them. I hope you remember that."

"Yeah, yeah," Ymir waved her off nonchalantly. "I know what I'm doing. You've done your part, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Elma, "for what's left of them," she added in a sharp undertone, and she turned and started back toward the castle, her lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Diana now turned to Ymir.

"We're not really going into the forest, are we?" she asked, and Akko was surprised to see the calm and collected Diana Cavendish look so terrified.

"You are if you want to stay at Luna Nova," said Ymir fiercely. "You've done wrong and now you've got to pay for it. Be grateful you're not in my old Cadet Corp – my old instructor would have come up with a way worse punishment."

"But students aren't allowed to wander in to the forest. I thought we were going to be doing something sensible like copying lines or cleaning the entrance hall without magic, not sending us to be brutally murdered by monsters."

"You're not gonna be brutally murdered," said Ymir offhandedly. "Mauled and maimed, maybe, but not murdered. And copying lines? What good's that to anyone? You'll do something useful or you'll get out. If you'd rather get expelled than serve your detention, you're more than free to go back to the castle and pack. Go on!"

Diana didn't move. She looked at Ymir furiously, but then dropped her gaze.

"Right then," said Ymir, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, and I don't want anyone taking risks. Follow me over here for a moment."

She led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding her lamp up high, she pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Ymir, "see that stuff glowing on the ground? A sort of neon-purple color. That's Eidolon blood. There's an Eidolon in there that's been hurt badly by something. This is the second time in a week. The school found a Unicorn dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try and find the poor thing. We might have to put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the Eidolon finds us first?" said Jasminka, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.

"As long as you stay on the path, nothing in this forest should bother you," said Ymir. "But just in case, you should always be ready to run away if necessary. The best option is to blind them first and then hightail it out of here. Right, now, we're gonna split into two parties and follow the trail in different directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've been staggering around since last night at least."

"You're gonna have us split up?" yelped Diana. "Bad things always happen when you split up. Haven't you see that American cartoon with the talking dog?"

"I've seen your grades, Cavendish, you can take care of yourself," said Ymir. "So here's what I'm thinking: me, Kagari, and Jasminka will go one way and Cavendish and the girl with the ridiculously long name will go the other. Now, I'm gonna give each of you some flares. If any of you see the Eidolon, send up a green flare, all right? And if anyone gets in trouble, send up a red flare and we'll all come and find you. Don't waste them – I only brought enough for each of us. Everyone ready? All right, let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Akko, Jasminka, and Ymir took the left path while Diana and Constanze took the right.

They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of purple blood on the fallen leaves.

Akko saw that Ymir looked worried.

"Could a werewolf be killing the Eidolons?" Akko asked.

"Killing an Eidolon in general is practically impossible," said Ymir. "Next to dragons, Eidolons are the most magical creatures on the planet, some of them comprised of pure magical energy. This is the first time I've ever heard of one being hurt, and I've been around for a long time."

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Akko could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of Eidolon blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Jasminka?" Ymir whispered. "Don't worry, Kleiner, it can't have gone far if it's this badly hurt, and then we'll be able to – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Ymir seized Akko and Jasminka and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. She reached into the boxes strapped at her sides and pulled out a pair segmented swords, raising them in front of her defensively, ready to strike at the first thing that moved. The Three of them listened. Something humming softly in the darkness, too far away to be seen and only echoed faintly between the hollow trees. Ymir was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sounded faded away.

"I knew it," she murmured. "There's something in here that shouldn't be."

"A werewolf?" Akko suggested.

"Enough with the damn werewolves already!" Ymir snapped irritably. "It wasn't a werewolf and it's wasn't an Eidolon – at least one I've never heard of. Follow me, and be careful. There something not right in this forest."

They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Ymir called. "Show yourself! I'm in no mood for games tonight!"

And into the clearing came – was it a woman, or a horse? To the waist, a woman, with greenish-blue hair, a red mark across her face, and a fractured ibex's skull on her head, but below that was a was a horse's gleaming pale body with a long, black tail. Akko and Jasminka's jaws dropped.

"Oh, it's you, Nel," said Ymir in relief. "How are you?"

She walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Ymir," said Nel. "Are you feeling well? You looked prepared to attack me."

"Well, we're in the Arcturus Forest; don't have to tell you about being careful," said Ymir, returning her swords to the boxes. "There's something bad loose in the forest. This is Akko Kagari and Jasminka Antonenko, by the way. Students up at the school. And this is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, but we just call her Nel. She's an Arrancar."

"A what?" asked Akko, blinking in confusion.

"It's a long and overcomplicated story," said Ymir.

"Good evening," said Nel. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Erm – "

"A little," said Jasminka, still gazing wondrously at Nel.

"Well, I guess more than what you can expect from children," said Nel. She flung back her head and stared at the sky. "Polaris shines brightly this night. Perhaps that is a good omen?"

"Yeah, you're gonna have to talk to Ursula about that," said Ymir, frowning with a look of impatience. "Listen, I'm glad we've run into you, Nel, because there's an Eidolon that's been hurt – you seen anything?"

Nel didn't answer immediately. She stared unblinkingly up, then sighed.

"It's seems that you have not been listening, despite Harribel's many, many urgings to your headmistress," said Nel, now looking disapproving at them.

"What're you talking about?" asked Ymir.

"Eidolons are not the only ones that have been hunted in this forest," said Nel, frowning. "For months now, there have been a multitude of attacks on nearly every creature that lives here: orcs, wendigos, Xenomorphs, Hollows, Grimm – someone killed Yammy last week, completely drained him of energy. And you're only now taking notice of our problems?"

"Look, I'm sorry, all right," said Ymir, throwing her hands out exasperatedly. "We didn't hear a thing before – "

"Harribel has personally gone up to the castle many times to speak with your headmistress," Nel interjected furiously. "And every time she is stopped at the door, told the problems of the forest were ours to deal with."

"Well, this is the first time I'm hearing about it," said Ymir. "Look, I promise I'll talk to the headmistress about this when we get back up to the castle, but first I need to know if you can tell me anything about what's attacking them."

Yet again, Nel took a while to answer, seemingly pondering the answer. At last, she said, "Maybe you should ask her instead."

A movement in the trees behind Nel made Ymir reach for her blades again when a woman with rich-tan skin and short, messy golden hair emerged. Her attire consisted of very thin bone armor, but her right hand was completely concealed by an exaggeratedly long blade that looked like a shark's tooth.

"The Queen of the Arcturus Forest graces us with her presence," said Ymir, sounding a bit sarcastic. "How're you doing, Harribel?"

"What are you doing in our forest?" said Harribel; her face was neutral, but there was bite behind her words. "After being denied passage to the castle, you think we will allow you freedom to cross our domain?"

"Look, like I told Nel, we never heard anything about that," said Ymir. "I'll talk to the headmistress later, but you need to tell us if you've seen what's been attack everyone in the forest. There's an Eidolon injured and – "

Ymir ducked out of the way in time as a thin blade of yellow energy shot over her head, slicing the tree behind her directly down the middle and watching the two halves fall on the ground with a rumbling crash.

"The only reason you are not dead," said Harribel monotonously, "is because we owe the Headmistress for allowing us to stay here when we had nowhere else to go. But that gratitude is beginning to wear. If you want to find your Eidolon, you shall do so without us. Come along, Nelliel."

Akko and Jasminka helped Ymir back to her feet, staring at Harribel and Nel until they disappeared into the shadow of the trees.

"Well, that could have gone a whole lot better," said Ymir irritably. "At least we ran into somebody like those two. Had it been any of the other Arrancar, they might not have felt so chatty."

"Are there more of them in here?" asked Akko.

"Pretty much the entire Arrancar population…. You see, while the world has become accepting of most Demi-Humans, there are still some you wouldn't invite out for a drink. The Arrancar have a nasty reputation after what that Aizen guy did with them – again, a long and overcomplicated story. Holbrooke let them stay in the forest when they were shunned everywhere else. They can be a decent sort – as long as Harribel keeps them in line."

"Do you think that was an Arrancar we heard earlier?" said Jasminka.

"I know all the Arrancar that live in this forest and I never heard anything like that. Nah, if you ask me, that's what's been killing all the creatures in here – never heard anything like it before.

They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Akko kept looking nervously over her shoulder. She had a nasty feeling they were being watched. She was very glad they had Ymir and her swords with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Jasminka grabbed Ymir's arm.

"Professor! Look! A red flare, Diana and Constanze are in trouble!"

"You two wait here!" Ymir shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for you!"

A wire shot out from the harness at Ymir waist, pulling her into the air and vanishing into the forest. Akko and Jasminka stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Jasminka.

"If they have…then it's my fault they're here in the first place,"

The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Akko's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What's going on? Where were the others?

At last, a sharp zipping noise announced Ymir's return. She landed in front of them, carrying Constanze and Diana under her arms. Ymir was fuming; she dropped them on the ground. It seems Diana and Constanze had been following the trail of the Eidolon when something brush up against Constanze's legs. Constanze had panicked and sent up the flare. When Ymir had arrived, the realized it was only a wolf pup who had smelled candy in Constanze's pocket.

"We'll be lucky to catch anything now, with the racket you two were making. All right, we're changing groups – mute girl, you're with me and Jasminka, Kagari, you go with Cavendish."

"Why do I have to go with Kagari?" asked Diana. "Why Can't I go with Jasminka or you?"

Akko didn't know which hurt more: the fact that Diana didn't want her around, or that she called her Kagari.

"Because I said so, that's why," said Ymir.

And so, Akko set off into the heart of the forest with Diana, who huffed and walked out in front so that her back was to Akko the entire time. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper in to the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Akko thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by.

"You know, we ran into a couple of Arrancar earlier," Akko told Diana, whose back was still turned. "Did you know there's been something attacking the creatures for months? Halle Berry or whatever name was said she went to talk to Professor Holbrooke, but Ymir says it's the first time she's heard of it. What do you think?"

Diana didn't answer her, nor did she even glance back.

"Aw, c'mon, Diana," groaned Akko. "At least talk to me."

"You want to talk?" Diana finally spoke up, though Akko flinched at the venom in her tone. "That's rich, coming from you?"

"W-What are you talking about?" Akko sputtered.

"I know the rumors around the dragon weren't false," said Diana coldly. "That's the only explanation as to why you were at the tower in the first place. Honestly, of all the stupid things you could have done, sneaking a dragon out of the school past curfew in a forbidden area of the castle has to be the most idiotic thing you have done yet. If you had just been upfront with Professor Holbrooke, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"But having a dragon egg is illegal," said Akko. "And it wasn't any old egg – it was an imperial something or other from the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom. We would have been executed if anyone found out."

"Did you take the egg on purpose?" asked Diana.

"…No," mumbled Akko.

"Then you should have explained the situation instead of making it worse," Diana chastised her. "You think the Avalon's Holy Dragon Imperial Family are above reason? If you had just explained that it was an accident and simply returned the egg, I'm certain they would have forgiven you. But no, you once again decided to take the matter into your own hands and make it far worse than necessary. That's just like you, always acting without thinking."

Having Diana explain it like that, it made Akko realize how stupid she was not to think of it in the first place.

"And you know what the worst part is?" said Diana, her voice becoming soft and trembling. "That even after everything we've been through…you didn't trust me to help."

It suddenly dawned on her why Diana was so angry with Akko. It wasn't because she had gotten her in trouble…it was because Akko hadn't confided in Diana, and it made her feel left out. If Akko didn't feel like crap already, she certainly did now.

They were silently approached a clearing ahead, through the tangle branches of an ancient oak.

"Look - : Diana murmured, holding out an arm to stop Akko.

Something bright purple was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.

It looked generally human-shape, but its hands and feet were claws and its skin radiated with purple energy as its hair fluttered behind it, as it gravity held no effect. And it was dead, oozing neon blood all over the ground. Akko had never seen anything so beautiful and sad.

Diana had taken one step toward it when a soft humming sound made her freeze where she stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered…. Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came gliding across the ground, surrounded by what looked like flying disks. As it moved closer to the dead Eidolon, the glow of its body illuminated the disks and Akko realized they looked exactly like Croix's Sorcerer Units. Akko and Diana stood transfixed as the cloaked figure reached the Eidolon, grasped either side of the Eidolon's head, twisted, and ripped its head cleanly from the rest of its body.

 **BANG!**

Akko jumped and whirled around. Diana had shot a red flare into the air through the branches, casting an ominous glow over the clearing. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Akko – the Eidolon's head dripping neon blood down its front. It pointed a finger at Akko and the Sorcerer Unit zoomed towards them.

Akko and Diana didn't have enough time to pull out their wands before they were knocked on their backs. Wires shot out from the bottom of the Sorcerer Unit, coiling around their arms and legs so that they couldn't move. The figure glided up to them, take a moment to consider them. It looked like it wanted to go after Diana first, but it quickly changed its mind and turned on Akko. The cloaked figure reached a gloved hand at Akko's throat. Akko thought the creature was about to choke her, but instead she felt something tugging against her skin – it wanted her necklace!

The cloaked figure wrapped her fist around the necklace and started to pull at the collar when a sharp, zipping noise reached their ears. In a flash, the cloaked figure glided backwards as the Sorcerer Units restraining them were hacked into pieces all along the floor. Akko and Diana fell to their knees, letting out relieved sighs, as Ymir landed in front of them with her weapons drawn.

The cloaked figure took a moment to consider Ymir, deciding it was not worth challenging her, and glided away into the darkness of the tree with its prize.

"Are you two alright?" asked Ymir, shelving her blades.

"Yes – thank you – what was that?" asked Diana,

"I honestly have no idea," said Ymir, crouching down to pick up one of the hacked pieces of the Sorcerer Units. "But they must have been human – or at least Demi-Human – can't see any of the creatures in the forest needing to use Magitronics."

"It was Croix," said Akko immediately. "Croix's the only one who knows how to use Magitronics."

"Along with every student whose ever been in her class," said Ymir dismissively. "Using Magitronics isn't that hard. Croix made them simple so that anyone can use them, even humans. What likely happened is that someone snuck into Croix's lab, stole a couple of her Sorcerer Units, and then reprogrammed them to do what they wanted. That only leaves a couple hundred suspects – great."

There was suddenly a sound of galloping from the other side of the clearing. Nel and Harribel came bursting through the trees. Their gazes fell on Ymir, Akko, and Diana, then turned to the headless corpse of the Eidolon.

"Ymir!" Harribel thundered. "The creature that's been attacking our forest? Did you see its face? Have you found out what it has been hunting us these past months? Answer me!"

"Kinda hard to do that when your shouting in my face," Ymir retorted.

"Harribel, you must compose yourself," said Nel, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder before turning to Ymir. "Please, just tell us what it is that been causing our dominion so much trouble."

"I wish I could answer that," said Ymir, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "I can tell you it's not something native to the Wilds. It was using Magitronics – technology powered by magic. It could have been a human or a demi-human, I don't know. It ripped the Eidolon's head off and then flew away."

"That fits the description of rest of the attacks," said Harribel, calming herself. "In all of the encounters, all of the victims had their heads removed and their bodies drained. Grimm and Orcs are one things, but killing an Eidolon…. The forest is no longer safe for anyone, let alone the Star-Born Child."

Harribel and Nel were looking straight at Akko when she said that. Ymir and Diana slowly turned their heads, staring at Akko like she was some creature they had never seen before; Diana clapped her hands over her mouth to suppress her gasp.

"How – how did you know who I was?" Akko stammered.

"Being confined into a forest does not leave us with many activities," said Harribel. "Beyond hunting for food or sport, we Arrancar have taken to stargazing and deciphering prophecy from the movements of the planets and the glimmering of the stars. Nelliel and I knew that it was our destiny to meet the girl who changed our world on this very night…though, admittedly, I was expecting you to be a bit…smarter."

"Are you calling me dumb?" yelled Akko furiously.

"If the shoe fits, I believe you humans say," said Harribel, taking a brief side glance at the Eidolon. "We cannot tarry here any longer. You should go back to the castle before whatever that thing was returns. Nelliel will guide you back to safety."

Nel lowered herself on to her front legs so that Akko and Diana could clamber onto her back.

"We need to pick up the rest of my students before we leave," said Ymir. "I kind left them when I saw the flare."

"Then we shall make a slight detour," said Nel. "Lead the way."

Another zipline shot from Ymir's harness and she flew into the trees. Nel whisked around, with Akko clutching on as best she could. Diana wrapped her arms around Akko's waist and buried her face in her shoulder; Akko felt the heat rise in her cheek. They plunged off into the trees chasing the zipping teacher, leaving Harribel behind them.

"There's something I don't understand," Akko said to Nel. "Why has that thing been taking the heads of the Eidolons and other creatures."

"Because the head is where the brain is located, obviously," said Diana. "It's the originating source of magical energy in the body. There are occasions when Demi-Humans can survive being beheaded because their magic is stored in the brain."

"The golden-haired one is correct," said Nel, leaping over a fallen log; Diana clung to Akko harder, making Akko feel light-headed. "Everyone believes that magic is just a source of mysticism that stems from a supernatural force, but in truth, magic is just another form of science. There is a part of the human brain that is rarely disturbed by normal humans, but constantly active for Demi-Humans and other magically gifted creatures. Unfortunately, this is what stemmed hatred and jealousy during the early ages of magic, during the time of the Witch Hunts. In those days, there was an anarchic ritual where normal humans, who resented the witches for their gifts, would feast on the brains of witches to steal their magical abilities – "

"And that's how Americans got the inspiration to make zombie movies," Diana added.

"Yes, quite," Nel continued. "Suffice to say, it worked, on some scale at least. Feasting on the lobe of any magical creature will give normal humans magical abilities, or if they are already magically gifted, amplify strengthen their power. As I am sure you've heard, Eidolon's are the second most magical beasts in the world and devouring just one of them would make one's power tremendous, but there is a terrible price to be paid. When you consume another life, you not only get their magical power, but also their memories and personalities. They will constantly wage war against your own, fighting for dominance. It would take someone of extraordinary willpower to ward them off."

"Or someone with advanced magical technology," said Diana.

Akko stared at the back of Nel's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

"But who'd be that desperate?" she wondered aloud. "If you're going to have all these personalities trying to control you, it doesn't seem worth it, right?"

"No, it doesn't," Nel agreed, "unless all you need is to have enough power long enough to find a new source to draw strength from – something that will break all limits you may possess – something that could literally change the world. Star-Born Child, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"Shiny Rod! Of course – the power of the Seven Stars, to control reality itself! But I don't understand who – "

"Think about it, Kagari," said Diana. "Who's the one person on this whole planet who would do anything for power? Who else on this whole planet would want to get revenge on the Star-Born Child – another secret you kept from me, by the way?"

It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Akko's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, she seemed to hear once more what Blair had told her on the night she first revealed herself: "Some say Shiny Chariot killed her. I knew Chariot well enough – she didn't kill people if she could help it, not even the Eclipse Queen. And personally, I doubt she was even human enough to die"

"Do you mean," Akko croaked, "that was Ar – "

"Akko! Diana! Are you all right?"

Jasminka and Constanze were running toward them down the path, Ymir dropped down from above alongside them.

"We're fine," Diana spoke for them, Akko didn't trust her own voice at the moment. "The Eidolon is dead. We found it in the clearing back the way we came."

"This is where I leave you," Nel murmured as Akko and Diana slipped off her back. "You are safe now. Good luck, Star-Born Child. The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by Arrancar. I hope this is one of those times."

She turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Akko shivering behind her.

* * *

Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda had all fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. Amanda shouted something about Chariot fouls when Constanze roughly shook her awake. In a matter of seconds, though, she was wide-eyed as Akko began to tell them what had happened in the forest.

Akko couldn't sit down. She paced up and down in front of the fire. She was still shaking.

"So when were you planning on telling us you were a celebrity," said Sucy dryly.

"Really?" said Akko exasperatedly. "After everything I told you, that's the thing you pick up. Don't you get what happening here? Croix wants to give the Shiny Rod to Aradia…and Aradia is waiting in the forest…and all this time we thought Croix just wanted it for herself…."

"Could you please stop saying that name!" said Amanda in a terrified whisper, as if she thought Aradia could hear them.

Lotte looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Akko, everyone says that the Eclipse Queen was only scared of two people: Shiny Chariot and Professor Holbrooke. With Professor Holbrooke around, the Eclipse Queen won't touch you."

The sky turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.

When Akko pulled back her sheets, she wasn't surprised to see Blair curled up on her pillow, but she was stunned to see a tiny box lying next to her. Akko opened the box and found her Ring of Gyges inside. There was a note folded under it:

 **Just in case.**

* * *

 **I always thought there were better ways they could have gone about getting rid of the dragon in the source material (such as talking to the headmaster, who would have had a much more sensible solution), so I really wanted Diana to point it out. Also threw in a bit of world building, specifically the idea that there are creatures in the world that are rejected even by Demi-Humans and they have to take shelter in faraway places. This will be an important plotline in the future.**

 **Next Chapter: The Seven Trials of Luna Nova**


	16. The Seven Trials of Luna Nova

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Sixteen: The Seven Trials of Luna Nova**

In years to come, Akko would never quite remember how she had managed to get through her exams when she half expected Aradia to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Arcas was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new pencils for the exam, which had been enchanted with an Anti-Cheating Charm. Akko felt confident in her written exams because she was capable of retaining information about magic better than anyone in her class, next to Diana, of course. It was the practical exams that really stumbled her up.

Professor Akane called them one by one into her class to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across the desk. Professor Finnelan watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox – points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Hex made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion. Ursula had them navigating the stars at night, asking them to explain Ursa Major and Minor in relation to the Pole Star. Croix's exam required them to disassemble a Sorcerer Unit, refill its magic charge with their own spells, and then reassemble it – Constanze somehow managed to upgrade the Sorcerer Unit and turn it into a fully functioning action robot.

Akko did the best she could – which was never that good to begin with – trying not to be distracted by her necklace, which seemed to glisten brighter than usual ever since the hooded figure touched it in the forest. It was nearly blinding, but Akko seemed to be the only one who could see it because no one else glanced in her direction. Jasminka thought Akko had a bad case of exam nerves because Akko couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Akko kept being woken by nightmares of a hooded figure, the Eidolon's head in its hands, dripping neon blood down its front.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Akko had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have jewelry burning their retinas, but none of her dormmates seemed as worried about the Shiny Rod as Akko. The idea of Aradia certainly scared them, but she didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Croix or anyone else might be up to. Diana might have shared in her concern, but she was still angry with Akko for keeping secrets from her, which seemed to intensify since learning that she was the Star-Born Child. These days, Diana wouldn't even spare her a glance, which hurt worse than any verbal insult Hannah and Barbara could come up with.

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about Demi-Humans that fought in the French Revolution and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When Professor Ymir told them to put their pencils down and asked them to pass their exams to the front, Akko couldn't help cheering with the rest.

"Freedom!" cried Amanda, leaping over to the front steps into the sloping lawn of the castle. "Sweet, glorious freedom!"

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," said Akko.

"Yeah, well, not all of us gives a damn about that history crap," said Amanda. "How you even manage to stay awake during her lectures, I'll never figure out."

"I think they're interesting," said Akko.

"Nerd," Amanda scoffed.

They wandered across the lawn and flopped under the shade of a large tree across from the statue of the faceless witch holding the seven-jeweled staff. Akko could see Wangari and her reporting crew going around doing interviews of the students who just finished their exams; that girl had a ton of energy.

"No more studying," Amanda sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look a little happy about it, Akko. We've got a week before we find out how badly we did. There's no reason to worry about it yet."

Akko's eyes were locked on her necklace, wincing at the brightness only she can see.

"I wish I knew what this _means_!" she burst out angrily. "My necklace – the one I had since I was a baby – it's never acted like this before."

"I would say you were touched in the head, but I think that's already obvious to everyone," said Sucy dryly.

"I'm not going crazy," said Akko. "I think it's a warning…it means something's about to happen…something with the Shiny Rod…."

Even Lotte couldn't be bothered to get worked up after a long day; it was too hot.

"Akko, relax, remembered what I said? The Shiny Rod is safe as long as Professor Holbrooke is around. Anyway, we've never had any proof that Croix found out how to get past Arcas. She nearly had her leg ripped off once, she's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Sucy will smile voluntarily before Professor Ursula let's Professor Holbrooke down."

"My cousin Mandy smiled once – she nearly broke the universe," said Sucy.

Akko nodded, but she couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something she'd forgotten to do, something important. When she tried to explain this, Jasminka said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Alchemy notes before I remembered we'd done that one already."

Akko was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. She watched Kenny, Professor Akane's familiar, strut across the courtyard with a letter clamped in its mouth. She hadn't seen Blair around lately; she must have been hanging out with Ursula again. Neither of them would ever betray professor Holbrooke. They would never tell anyone any compromising secrets…never…but –

Akko suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Where're you going?" said Amanda sleepily.

"I just thought of something," said Akko. She had turned white. "We've got to go and see Professor Ursula, now."

"Why?" panted Lotte, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a little strange," said Akko power walking through the entrance hall and scrambling up the spiral staircase, "that when Blair gets herself a dragon egg, someone just happens to be passing by and spies on through the door? Ursula's office isn't exactly some place you pass on the way to the bathroom. And that same person could have gone to the hospital wing and saw Aurora's text on Amanda's phone. Then that same person could have started the rumor about Eco, knowing it would reach Diana and that she would try to catch them."

"Are you saying someone purposely set them all up?" asked Lotte, jumping three steps at a time just to keep up with Akko.

"Whoever it was must have been hoping that Diana would catch us and take us to the teachers," said Akko. "If we still had Eco when we were caught, they would force us to tell them where it came from – I'm sure Finnelan would have some method of forcing the truth out. Ursula would have been fired for hiding a dragon and we would have been expelled for helping. They were trying to get us out of the way."

"But why would they do that if they needed Professor Ursula to get past Arcas?" asked Sucy.

"…Unless they already know how," said Akko in a frightened whisper.

They threw open the door to Ursula's room, but they did not see the Astronomy teacher anywhere. Instead they found Blair, naked in her human form, taking a large bubble bath in the middle of the room; if Akko wasn't used to seeing this in her own home, she would have looked as embarrassed as her friends.

"Hey, Akko-nyan!" she said, smiling. "Finished your exams? Wanna join me? The water feels great!"

"Is that offer opened to everyone?" said Amanda with a perverse grin; Constanze glared daggers at Blair.

"Cut it out, Blair, we're in a hurry," said Akko impatiently, walking up to the tub. "Have you seen Professor Ursula? It's important."

"She got called away for some meeting in Era, something to do with the Magic Council," said Blair casually as she scrubbed her back. "But if you need anything, you can ask me, you know."

"Well, do you remember that night you won Eco?" asked Akko.

"Vaguely, I was pretty drunk and the whole thing was a blur," said Blair, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "Ursula and I went to the pub in town with Croix that night."

"You went with Croix?" yelped Akko.

Blair saw the six of them look stunned and raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, Croix thought it be nice to hang out with the old gang like before," she said. "We were down to Western Restaurant Nekoya – that's a little hole-in-the-wall owned by an old friend of ours. It was nothing special that night; just the three of us getting drinks and reminiscing about our school days."

"What did you three talk about, Blair?" asked Akko. "Did you mention anything about Chariot or Luna Nova?"

"Of course we talked about Chariot and Luna Nova – that's all our conversations were," said Blair. "We talked about all our old friends: Chariot, Izetta, Athena. We talked about how things have been and what we've been doing since we left school…. We might have discussed a little about the Shiny Rod, since we're guarding it and all…. Croix was saying something about her trial being unbeatable…I can't really remember too much about that, 'cause Croix kept buying us drinks…. Then she brought back this person from the bar…tiny little thing, never took her hood down…. Let's see…yeah, she said she had this egg that she was looking to play cards for, but she never mentioned what it was…. She said she had to be sure we could handle it, she didn't want it to go somewhere that it couldn't be taken cared of properly…. Ursula told her, after Arcas, we could handle anything…."

"And did she – did she seem interested in Arcas?" Akko asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Well – yeah – how many giant polar bears do you meet outside the Arctic? So Ursula told her, Arcas is a piece of cake if you know how to calm him down, just play him a little music and he'll fall straight to sleep – "

Blair suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn't have told you that!" she blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey – where're you going?"

Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka didn't speak to each other at all as they barreled down the stairs until they were on the fifth-floor landing.

"We've got to go to Professor Holbrooke," said Akko urgently. "Croix obviously took Ursula and Blair out to get them good and drunk so that Aradia could come in under that cloak and get what they needed – it would have been too easy, they would have said anything. And Aradia was in the forest stealing magical energy because she was weak…she's planning on making her move on Shiny Rod soon. I just hope Professor Holbrooke believes us. Where's her office?"

They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Professor Holbrooke lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see her.

"We'll just have to – " Akko began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you girls doing inside?"

It was Professor Finnelan, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Holbrooke," said Jasminka, rather bravely, Akko thought.

"See Professor Holbrooke?" Professor Finnelan repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"

Akko swallowed – now what?

"It's sort of secret?" she said, but she wished at once she hadn't, because Professor Finnelan's nostrils flared.

"Professor Holbrooke left ten minutes ago with Professor Ursula," she said coldly. "They received urgent messages from the Magic Council and flew off to Era at once.

"She's _gone_?" said Akko frantically. " _Now?_ "

"Professor Holbrooke is a very important witch, Kagari, she has many demands of her time – "

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Magic Council, Kagari?"

"Look," said Akko, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor – it's about Shiny Rod – "

Whatever Professor Finnelan had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know - ?" she spluttered

"Professor, I think – I _know_ – that Cr – that someone's going to try and steal Shiny Rod. I've got to talk to Professor Holbrooke."

She eyed her with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Holbrooke and Professor Ursula will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Rod, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor – "

"Kagari, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But they didn't.

"It's tonight," said Akko, once she was sure Professor Finnelan was out of earshot. "Croix's going through the trapdoor tonight. She's found out everything she needs, and now she's got Professor Holbrooke and Ursula out of the way. She sent those notes. I bet the Magic Council's gonna be really surprised when they turn up."

"Are you keeping more secrets, Kagari?"

Akko jumped with a yelp, wheeling around over her hand on her beating heart.

Diana was standing there.

"And a good afternoon to you, too," she said coldly. "What are you all doing here? I would have expected you all to be outside enjoying the end of exams."

"Diana," said Akko with relief. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Are you now?" said Diana, narrowing her eyes. "You certainly fooled me, hiding away up here, as far away from everyone else. Doesn't seem like you made the effort to seek me out if you wanted me to be here."

"Ouch, that one stung," said Amanda.

"Okay, okay, I get your mad at me, Diana, I totally understand," said Akko, grimacing. "But something bad has happened. Croix got the information she needed from Ursula and now she and Professor Holbrooke are gone. We think Croix is going to go after the Shiny Rod tonight. Now, you can be mad at me all you want, but I know you don't want Croix or Aradia getting their hands on it."

Diana stood silent, contemplating over the news that Akko had shared, then let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, say that Croix does know how to get past the polar bear," said Diana. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Well, first we should make sure Croix doesn't get to Arcas unnoticed," Akko whispered urgently as a group of third years walked by. "I think Croix might be in the staffroom right now. One of us should wait outside and follow her if she leaves it. Diana, you should do it."

"Why me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Amanda. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Akane, you know." She put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Akane, I'm so worried, I think I got question 14-B wrong – "

"It's a fluttering charm," Diana said instantly.

"Damn it!" yelled Amanda. "I can't believe I screwed up an easy question like that!"

Diana smirked, satisfied with Amanda's distress, and agreed to go and watch out for Croix.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Akko told them. "Come on."

But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Arcas from the rest of the school than Professor Finnelan turned up again and this time, she lost what little patience she had left.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Polaris!"

Akko and the others went back down to the front steps of the school. Akko had just said, "At least Diana's on Croix's tail," when the front doors flew open and Diana came out, plopping a seat next to Sucy.

"I'm sorry, Akko," she said. "Croix came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting from Professor Akane, and Croix went to get her, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Croix went.

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" said Sucy.

"No, no, that's not it," said Akko with a grunt of determination. "We can't let Croix steal Chariot's Shiny Rod. I'm going up there tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Rod first."

"Oh no!" gasped Jasminka.

"You can't!" said Lotte. "After what Professor Finnelan said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Akko shouted. "Don't you understand? If Croix gets to the Shiny Rod, Aradia's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when she was trying to take over? There won't be any Luna Nova to get expelled from! She'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for evil witches! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? Do you think she'll leave us alone if Polaris – "

"Lunar," Diana cut in.

"Whatever! – wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get Shiny Rod, well, I'll have to go back to Japan with mom and dad and wait for Aradia to find me there. It's only dying a little later than I would have, because I'm not turning into a bad witch! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing any of you say is going to stop me!"

She glared at them; none of them looked the least bit impressed.

"You done yet?" Amanda asked in a bored tone of voice. "Because we're gonna need a plan if all of us are gonna get to Shiny Rod first."

"Wait, what?" said Akko, blinking owlishly.

"You didn't honestly think we were gonna let you go alone, did you?" said Sucy with a slick smirk. "I know you're the dumbest witch in the whole school, but even you can't be that dumb."

"Hey!" snapped Akko. "Who're you calling dumb?"

"Can we use your invisible ring to sneak out?" asked Jasminka.

"I don't think it can work like that," said Akko disappointingly. "I think it only has enough power to cover three people. Any more and the magic will start to thin out."

Constanze made a series of hand signs, which Amanda translated: "Constanze says she can tweak her Stanbot to amplify the range of the ring's magic, but she needs to get started right away if she wants to make it in time."

"You guys are serious about coming with me?" asked Akko in awe.

"Of course we are," said Lotte. "How do you think you would get Shiny Rod without us? We all have individual talents that are definitely going to prove useful. I know my granny's song can at least put Arcas asleep."

"But if we get caught, you all will get expelled too…."

"Not if I can help it," said Diana proudly. "The Cavendish family is descended from Beatrix of the Nine Olde Witches and have contributed to the welfare of Luna Nova better than any family. And besides that, Professor Akane told me in secret that I got a hundred and fifty seven percent on her last exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

* * *

Akko and her friends took longer to eat dinner than the rest of the school, waiting until they were the last ones left. Nobody bothered them; none of the Polaris students had anything to say to Akko any more, after all. This was the first night she hadn't been upset by it. Constanze had a whole section of the table to herself littered with parts for her Stanbot, tinkering with the machine for the entire duration of dinner while Akko slurped listlessly on her tomato soup. None of them talk much. All of them were thinking about what they were about to do.

The last people to leave was Hannah and Barbara; Diana excused herself saying she wanted to catch up with a teacher before heading off to bed. When her groupies left the dining room, Diana turned and walked over to their table.

"Is that machine of yours almost finished?" Diana asked Constanze.

The diminutive genius slapped on one last piece of her Stanbot and pressed a little button on the side. The little robot suddenly transformed into something that looked like a miniature projector. Constanze held out her hand to Akko expectantly. Akko pulled out the Ring of Gyges from her pocket, handed it off to her friend, who inserted the ring in a thin slot on the side. The projector flared to life, flashing them all with a brilliant white light that nearly blinded them. Everyone blinked the spots out of their eyes and looked at themselves. They could still see each other. Constanze made a series of hand signs for Amanda to translate:

"Constanze says that flash splashed us with the ring's magic, but it'll only last for fifteen minutes, so we shouldn't waste any time with it."

"Then let hurry up and get Shiny Rod before Croix makes her move," Akko hissed.

But given the fact that they were basing all their hopes on Constanze's machine didn't fill them with confidence. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Elma, every distant breath of wind sounded like Mxyz swooping down on them.

At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Hannah sitting on the top step with her head in her hands, yawning tiredly.

"She must be waiting for Diana to come back," Lotte whispered in Akko's ear.

"Well, she's in for a long night," said Sucy.

As they climbed carefully around her, Amanda stopped and gave Hannah a sharp poke in the side of her head. Hannah jumped up with a small squeak, looking around for the perpetrator. Amanda snickered; Diana glared.

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Mr. Mxyzptlk was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Hey, who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his beady little eyes. "I know you're there, even if I can't see you. You a ghoul, a ghost, a sneaky little student, or my three ex-wives – if it's the last one, I'm not paying for alimony!"

He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Maybe I should call the dragon lady, or Elma, either one works, if something's a creeping around at night besides me."

Akko suddenly had an idea. She walked over to the large, ornate mirror hanging on the wall and breathed heavily on it, fogging up the reflective glass. Mr. Mxyzptlk noticed and swooped in close, his brow drooping suspiciously. Akko swiped her finger against the fogged-up surface, writing a series of letter that wouldn't normally make sense.

"K – L – T – P – Z – Y – X – M," Mxy read aloud. "Kltpzyxm? What kind of stupid ghost would…. Aw, mother – "

And then he vanished with a _pop_.

"You know, for a guy who makes a habit of pulling pranks," said Amanda, "he's not very bright when he's being pranked himself.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor – and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Akko said quietly, "Croix's already got past Arcas."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Akko turned to face the others.

"If any of you want to go back, I won't blame you," she said.

"How many times do we have to say it," said Diana impatiently. "We're coming because we don't trust you not to screw anything up, Kagari."

"That's mean!" Akko whined.

"It's true," said Sucy.

Akko rolled her eyes and pushed the door open.

As the door creaked, low rumbling growls met their ears. Arcas's nose sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Jasminka whispered.

"It looks a tape player," said Diana. "Croix must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment the music stops," said Lotte. "Okay…I'll just have to keep singing while the rest of you go on ahead."

"What about you?" asked Akko worriedly.

"I need to stay behind in case any of you need to get back," said Lotte, sounding a lot more confident than she looked. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just need to sing long enough until you six make it through the trap door and then I can head back through the door."

"Then you should probably take the ring," Amanda translated for Constanze, who slipped the Ring of Gyges in Lotte's hand. "Just in case somebody comes along."

The effects of Constanze's machine was starting to fade at that exact moment and they were slowly becoming visible. Arcas sensed them and growled menacingly, but stopped when a soft, tuneful voice echoed in the corridor. Lotte's eyes were closed and her hands were clasped as the first note left her lips. No matter how many times she heard Lotte sing, Akko knew she would never tire of hearing that beautiful voice. Arcas's eyes began to droop – it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep singing," Akko warned Lotte as they crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the polar bear's hot, smelly breath as they approached its giant head.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Amanda, peering over the polar bear's back. "Want to go first, Princess?"

"No, I do not!"

"All right." Amanda gritted her teeth and stepped carefully over the polar bear's legs. She bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Jasminka said anxiously.

"Nothing – just black – there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

"I'll go first," said Akko. "Make sure it's safe before the rest of you go in."

"Could you hurry up, please?" said Lotte, stopping for a moment to catch her breath

In the few seconds of silence, the polar bear growled and twitched, but the moment Lotte began to sing again, it fell back into its deep sleep.

Akko climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.

She lowered herself through the hole until she was hanging on by her fingertips. Then she looked up at Amanda and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to Ursula's office and tell Blair to come help, okay?"

"Okay," said Amanda.

"See you in a minute…I hope…."

And Akko let go. Cold, damp air rushed past her as she fell down, down, down and –

 **FLUMP**. With a funny, muffled sort of thump she landed on something soft. She sat up and felt around, her eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though she was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's okay!" she called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Amanda followed right away. She landed, sprawled next to Akko.

"What's this stuff?" were her first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Guys, hurry up!"

Diana was the next to drop, landing in a heap on Akko's right side. She sat up and Akko realized how close they were, their faces only a couple inches apart; the heat flared in Akko's cheeks once more. Thankfully (or unfortunately, depending on the situation) Jasminka landed directly between them. Constanze floated down the trapdoor, using Stanbot's helicopter function to land next to Amanda, and Sucy practically glided through the hole and landed on the outer edge of the plant bed. Up above, they could hear Lotte's song end abruptly followed by a hard slam of the door, waking Arcas with a rumbling growl.

"We must be miles under the school," said Diana.

"Lucky this plant thing was here to break our fall," said Jasminka.

"Lucky isn't the word I would use," said Sucy. "Look down."

She slithered backwards and pressed herself against the damp wall as something snapped up to reach her, but Sucy was just out of its range. Akko and the others looked down at themselves, only now realizing that their legs were being ensnared by several thorny vines that were cutting into their skin. Diana was the first to react, reaching for her holster to withdraw her wand, but she had barely started to mutter the words for a spell before she was pulled sharply up in the air by her ankles; her wand clattered uselessly on the ground. Everyone else was pulled up in similar fashion, unable to reach for their wands and Stanbot was crushed by the snake-like vines before Constanze could react in time.

Now that everyone with the exception of Sucy was hanging upside down by their ankles, Akko tried not to be distracted by the fact that Diana was barely holding up her skirt to keep anyone else from seeing underneath. She didn't have any problems focusing when a large, purple bulb ominously climbed out of the shadows. There was a moment of pause when the bulb seemed to take in its new pray before it erratically bloomed with an ear-piercing shriek that rattled Akko to her bones. The plant had a thorny maw that was split in four directions, exposing its glowing yellow core, and a dozen marks on its petals that looked like eyeballs.

"Ooh, it's a Mandrake," said Sucy, looking very excited. "I've never seen a fully grown one before. You know Mandrakes can kill people with their screams when they are uprooted."

"I'm glad you're having a good time!" snarled Akko, leaning back as the Mandrake's barbs were edging closer to her face. "Now can you do something before it eats us!"

"It's not gonna eat you," said Sucy lightly. "It's just gonna digest your skin and organs in its fluid and then spit out your bones – Mandrakes don't like bones."

"SUCY!" they all screamed in enraged unison.

"Fine, fine," Sucy grumbled.

She approached the roots of the Mandrake just as it was about to swallow Akko in its gaping maw. She reached inside her cloak and whipped out a small bottle of red liquid, opening the cork and inhaling the toxic scent like a drug. She tilted the bottle and dripped two drops of the chemical on the Mandrake's roots and then stood back. In a matter of seconds, the girls felt the Mandrake's thorny vines loosening its grip as it started to cringe like it had a bad stomachache. Akko and the others fell to the ground in a pile (Akko, of course, ended up on the bottom) as the Mandrake wriggled and flailed until it finally collapsed sideways, unmoving.

"Seriously, you couldn't have done that earlier?" said Amanda as they joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off her face.

"I was hoping that after you all died, I could use your bones for a corpse ritual I've been wanting to do since I was six," said Sucy with a creepy grin.

"There is something very wrong with you?" said Amanda.

"That's what my therapist said before he threw himself out the window," said Sucy.

"Okay…come's on, let's go this way," said Akko, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. "Hey, Sucy, you coming?"

"I'll catch up to you later," said Sucy, who was looming over the withering plant monster. "Mandrake roots are perfect for potion ingredient, and adult Mandrake's are extremely rare. I'm not gonna let this opportunity pass."

"Okay, just be sure to catch up later," said Akko as they went on ahead.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Akko was reminded of certain fantasy games she played with her friends in middle school. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, she remembered that dragons usually guarded dark, enclosed caverns like these in her games. Akko had met different kinds of dragons in her life – Tohru and Kanna were kind, but Elma and Eco were nightmares….

"Can you hear something?" Jasminka whispered.

Akko listened. A repeated chorus of grinding noises seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" asked Jasminka.

"Never heard a ghost sound like that before," said Amanda.

"There's light ahead – I can see something moving."

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, it's ceiling arching high above them. When they stepped inside the chamber, they had to pause when they realized just what they were looking at. The entire room was covered with square bricks of every color in the rainbow from the walls, to the ceilings, and even the six spiral staircases that climbed to the top. Beyond the chaotic color pattern, every brick in the room seem to be rotating around in a pattern that made no sense to Akko. There was a small path of normal bricks along the edge of the chamber that lead to a heavy wooden door.

"There's no way they would just make it that easy," said Amanda. "There's gotta be some kind of trick to it."

"Probably," said Akko. "But I don't see what they could do…then again, this looks like something Professor Akane would come up with, and she's definitely not a normal witch…well, guess I got no choice…I'll run for it."

She took a deep breath, covered her face with her arms, and sprinted around the edge of the chamber along the path. She expected to feel shooting darts or be chased by a giant boulder any second, but nothing happened. She reached the door untouched. She pulled the handle, but it was locked.

The other girls followed her. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Diana tried the unlocking charm.

"Now what?" said Akko.

"There must be a key somewhere…this is supposed to be a trial, after all," said Diana thoughtfully.

They scoured the room until Amanda spotted something glittering near the ceiling.

"Up there!" she shouted. "See? Up there? There a platform hanging all by itself. There's a key floating on top of it. We probably have to climb our way up there."

"I'll grab it," said Akko, ready to make a run for it when Amanda suddenly pulled her back by the collar. "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Don't you use your head? You think Professor Akane just made this room to look pretty? I've stolen a lot of things from some of the most heavily guarded places in New York, and my thief senses are telling me this is some kind of trap…give me a moment while I figure this out…."

Amanda crouched at the edge of the rotating tiles, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she watched the colored brick swirl by. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that each of the tiles had a different shaped etched into the surface – some were circles, others were squares, and some even had stars. Amanda hummed…then suddenly slapped her hand on a blue tile with a rectangle shape. The ring of tiles immediately stopped moving while the rest of the chamber continued uninterrupted. Amanda waited for a few seconds before taking her hand off and the tiles resumed their rotation.

Akko and the others watched as Amanda stood up, nodding to herself as if understanding something only she could. When Amanda took a step forward, her foot landed on a green tile with an oval pattern on it. The ring stopped and Amanda took another step forward, this time landing on a yellow tile with a circle pattern. She immediately pulled her foot back when a bolt of lightning suddenly shot down from seemingly nowhere, burning the tile black with ash. Akko, Jasminka, and Constanze gasped worriedly, but Amanda smirked like she had already won.

"A-ha! I knew it!" said Amanda victoriously. "This isn't some dumb security system – it's a puzzle! These tiles all have different colors and shapes on them, so you might not think there's a pattern to it, but the answer is so simple. It's just a matter of landing on a tile that either has the same shape or color as the one you were standing on before. For example…."

She waited for the next ring of tiles to circle around before she stamped her foot on an orange tile with an oval on it. There was no bolt of lightning coming down to strike her; Amanda grinned.

"Leave this to me, guys," she said confidently. "I got this."

Amanda bound her way to the next orange tile with a star-shaped pattern before stepping lighting on a yellow tile with the same shape. The way she moved across the room almost seemed like she was dancing. Sometimes she would make quick, decisive steps, others she would take a long pause before she found the right tile. In a couple of minutes, she reached one of the spiraling staircases, but that's when the puzzle got more difficult. Each of the steps only had a certain number of patterns and very few of them lined up with the next step. Amanda had to stop after take five steps up before she realized there was no matching pattern on the next two.

"O'Neill, look at the walls," Diana called, watching the scene play out with bated breath. "They have those same patterns as well – you can use those to move ahead!"

"I knew we kept you around for something, princess!" shouted Amanda.

She watched the tiles spin around the wall until she saw the next pattern coming around the bend. Amanda jumped up, pressed both her feet against the tile, and allowed it to carry her a few inches before she dropped down on the next pattern three steps above. She followed this pattern several times before she made it to the very top of the staircase; a huge gap between her and the floating platform. Amanda took a running start before making a great leap toward the platform, only just barely able to grab the edge and pull herself up. She snatched the key out of the air; a wave of relief washed over her.

"Akko, catch!" Amanda shouted before tossing the key.

Akko fumbled with the key before she properly caught it, running back to the door with it. She rammed the key into the lock and turned – it worked. The moment the lock clicked open, the key evaporated in her hand and suddenly returned to the floating platform where Amanda was still waiting.

"Amanda, it worked!" Akko called, waving her hand high. "Come on down!"

"That might take a while!" said Amanda. "I need to start this puzzle over again! You guys go on ahead; I'll find my way out eventually!"

Akko nodded, though she wasn't sure Amanda saw it, and pulled the door open.

The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Akko, Diana, Constanze, and Jasminka shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Akko whispered

"Isn't it obvious?" said Diana. "We have to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces, they could see another door.

"I think," said Diana, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

She walked up to a black knight and put her hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Diana.

"Do we – er – have to join to get across?"

The black knight nodded. Diana turned to the others, specifically to Constanze.

"As much as it pains me to admit…," she said, "You're the best player we've got. If we're going to have any chance of getting across, we need you to lead the way."

Constanze nodded in agreement as she began to pace up and down the line of pieces she could potentially use. After a minute of silent thinking, Constanze pointed to Akko and then to one of the far side pieces, she did the same with Jasminka and Diana, pointing to different places on the board.

"Kagari, you are to take the place of the right-hand bishop," Diana translated for Constanze. "Antonenko, you are to take the left-hand rook. I am to take the position of the queen."

"Why am I not surprised," grumbled Akko. "And what's Constanze supposed to play as?"

Without needing an answer from Diana, Constanze walked up to the knight, who stepped down and allowed her to take his place. The bishop, the rook and the queen turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Akko, Jasminka, and Diana took.

"White pieces always play first in chess," said Diana, peering across the board. "Yes…look…"

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.

Using Diana as a translator, Constanze started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever she sent them. Akko's knees were trembling. What if they lost?

"Kagari – move diagonally four squares to the right."

The first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"Had to let that happen," said Diana, looking shaken. "That leaves me free to take their bishop."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Constanze only just noticed in time that the others were in danger. She herself darted across the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones. Now that they were only left with a few pieces, Diana and Constanze exchanged looks; Constanze nodded gravely.

"All right, everyone, be ready…," Diana muttered suddenly. "Akko, once Albrechtsberger sacrifices herself – "

"What do you mean sacrifice herself?" Akko shouted.

"Albrechtsberger can only create an opening by sacrificing herself to be taken by the queen," answered Diana. Akko started to open her mouth, but Diana quickly cut her off. "You think I'm happy about this myself, Kagari? I'm not! But this is the only choice we have! Albrechtsberger is prepared to throw herself away if it means we can get to the Shiny Rod before Croix! Jansson, Manbavaran, and O'Neill all did the same! Do you want all their efforts to go to waste?"

"But – "

"No 'buts'! We have to do this, or we won't stop Croix from getting the Rod!"

There was no alternative.

"Kagari," Diana called, her face pale but determined. "Albrechtsberger will take one step forward and the queen will take her – that leaves you free to checkmate the king. Kagari, can you do this?"

Akko wanted to argue that there must be another way, but they were quickly running out of time. She nodded, feeling a lump in her throat.

Constanze braced herself as she stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Constanze hard across the head with her stone arm, and she crashed to the floor – Jasminka screamed, but stayed on her square – the white queen dragged Constanze to one side. She looked as if she had been knocked out.

Shaking, Akko moved three squares to the left.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Akko's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Constanze, Akko, Diana, and Jasminka charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"What if she's - ?"

"She'll be all right," said Jasminka, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself. "All her failed experiments just make her stronger. She'll be fine."

"What do you think is next?" asked Akko.

"We've had Professor Ursula's polar bear," Diana counted with her fingers, "Professor Cosmos's Mandrake, Professor Akane's puzzle room, and I'll bet it was Professor Finnelan who used alchemy to make those chessmen. That just leaves Professor Lenz, Croix, and Professor Holbrooke…"

They had reached another door.

"All right?" Akko whispered.

"Go on."

Akko pushed it open.

They resisted the urge to retch as the smell of rotting meat filled their nostrils, making them all pull their tunics over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw something hunched on the opposite end of the room, next to the door leading out, gnawing at something that made a sickening squelch noise. As they stepped closer, Akko thought the creature looked like a naked human, only it was three meters tall and no features other that its unnaturally wide mouth. There was blood dripping down its lips, which made Akko realize that it was chewing on something that looked eerily like a human arm.

"A Titan," Diana said in a whispering gasp, she was shaking. "They're supposed to be extinct."

"It doesn't look like it's noticed us," said Akko. "Maybe we can make a run for it?"

"You really think that thing will just let us waltz out of here?" hissed Diana. "If we got for the door, it will see us and it will eat us. Titans aren't effected by magic – they can only be killed by cutting the nape."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Akko.

"I'll do it," said Jasminka. Akko and Diana looked to her in shock; they were scared stiff, but Jasminka seemed perfectly content. "I can distract it while you two go on ahead."

"Are you crazy?" said Diana. "We can't leave you with that thing. Did you just hear what I said? Magic can't kill it."

"You don't know everything about me, Diana; I have at least one trick up my sleeve," said Jasminka, smiling. "You two go stop Croix – I'll be fine on my own."

Akko didn't feel as confident. In all honesty, she's never seen Jasminka use magic outside of making food, so what could she possibly do to defeat a Titan? But they've already wasted enough time; they need to get to the next trial soon before Croix got away.

So while Akko and Diana slipped into the shadows on the edge of the room, Jasminka walked into the middle and shot a quick spell at the Titan's face. The spell left a small burn mark on its face, but it quickly healed. The Titan turned its head slowly towards Jasminka, spying its next meal, and stood at full height, its head brushing against the ceiling. As it lumbered towards Jasminka, Akko and Diana pulled open the next door and darted out of the room. The last thing Akko saw before the door snapped shut was Jasminka turning her wand on herself and the room filling with a burst of energy.

Neither Akko nor Diana said anything as they marched down the long corridor. They had gone through five trials and had already lost five of their friends. It was proof of how powerful Croix was if she could go through all the trials on her own. Even if they did catch up to her, would they be able to stop her?

Akko pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next – but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a tablet sitting on a table.

"Croix's," said Akko. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a metal wall slid down in front of the doorway, barring them off. At the same instant, another metal wall sprang down in front of the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Look!" Diana seized the tablet lying on the table as it sprang to life with a _beep_. Akko looked over her shoulder to see what was on the screen. It looked like another puzzle like the one from Professor Akane's challenge, but this time it appeared on the screen as a 3D image of what looked like seven hexagonal balls pressed together. The spheres had no patterns to them – it was just a chaotic mingling of colored squares. Diana let out a great sigh and Akko, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing she felt like doing.

" _Brilliant_ ," said Diana. "This isn't magic – it's logic – it's a septuple hexagonal helix rubic's cube. Just the kind of thing I would expect from a brilliant scientist like Croix. Only someone with an extremely high intellect would be able to solve this. Anyone else would spend the rest of their lives trapped down here trying to figure it out."

"That's not going to happen to us, is it?"

"Of course not," said Diana, already swiping away at the tablet. "My tutors used to make me solve puzzles like these to challenge me – they could never find a puzzle hard enough. Though I will not deny that this particular challenge has a certain level of difficulty I'm not used to. This will take me a while to decipher."

"But you will be able to do it, right? We're not gonna wither away down here forever?"

"The fact that you doubt me is insulting. Just sit in the corner and be quiet – I need to concentrate."

Akko did what she was told, sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her legs to her chest while Diana worked. She swiped the tablet again and again, sometimes looking relieved when a part worked out for her, and irritated when things did not go according to her wishes. She spent close to ten minutes working on the puzzle, muttering ceaselessly to herself. And then, finally….

"Here – we – go!" she said with one final swipe.

The metal walls creaked and flew up out of sight, opening the doorways at both ends.

"You did it, Diana!" Akko cheered, throwing her hands in the air. "I knew you could do it! You're so smart…. Ugh, I sound like Hannah and Barbara. Come on, the Shiny Rod should be in the next room."

"I won't be going with you, Kagari," said Diana. "Listen, I'll go back and make sure that Antonenko and the others are safe. I'll send a message to Jansson telling her to distract Arcas while the rest of us climb out of the trap door – we need to get Albrechtsberger to the hospital wing as soon as possible. I'll try to send a message to Professor Holbrooke and hope she receives it in time. You have to go ahead and make sure that you can secure the Shiny Rod. Once you have it, I'm certain you can hold back Croix long enough for Professor Holbrooke to arrive."

"You're leaving me by myself?" yelped Akko. "What if…what if Aradia's with her?"

"Well, you managed to defeat her once," said Diana, calm and collected despite the situation. "You might get lucky again."

"But – "

Akko's lip trembled, until Diana stepped forward and rested her hand on Akko's head, not unlike that of petting a dog. Akko should have felt insulted if she wasn't so worried.

"Akko, this is your destiny," said Diana seriously. "The prophecy foretold that the Star-Born Child would change the world and create a new era of peace. Everyone assumed that was the day you were born, but I believe differently. I believe it is your destiny to obtain Shiny Rod and use its power to save our world."

"But…but I can't do that," said Akko, tearfully. "I'm just a huge screw-up. I can't even use a simple telekinesis spell. You should be the one to use it, Diana – you're smarter than I'll ever be."

"Yes, it's true you lack the potential for any sort of magic," said Diana; Akko whined. "But you have something more important – a special power deep inside of you. The power to follow your dreams and to inspire others to follow theirs."

Akko was suddenly reminded of the last night she had visited the Fountain of Polaris. Ursula had said the same thing once before.

"I'm still upset with you for keeping secrets from me," said Diana, "and I don't know if I will ever forgive you for that…but I am truly glad to have met you. I've lived so long hiding behind a mask, afraid to show my true self for the sake of my family name. It is because of you and the others that I can finally feel free. Thank you."

Akko felt like her whole head was on fire; it was very rare for Diana to praise her.

"Now, hurry along. Croix's not going to wait for you to catch up."

With that, Diana turned on her heel and walked back through the doorway from whence they came.

Akko turned a deep breath and turned to face the doorway that would lead to the last chamber of their trials.

"Here I come," she whispered.

She braced herself as she reached for the handle, pausing for a moment to collect herself, before she threw it open and walked inside the last chamber.

There was already someone there – but it wasn't Croix. It wasn't even Aradia (not like she had ever seen Aradia to begin with). The figure turned around and Akko let out a deep, dramatic gasp.

"You!" she shouted.

* * *

 **Whelp, this is it, only one more chapter until the end. So, who do you think it is waiting for Akko in the last trial? If you've been paying attention close enough to the story, you'll see that I've sprinkled several hints since close to the beginning. Think you have it figure out yet?**

 **Final chapter: Strive for Your Ideal Place**


	17. Strive for Your Ideal Place

**Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars**

 **Chapter Seventeen: S** **trive for Your Ideal Place**

It was Barbara.

" _You!_ " shouted Akko.

Barbara smiled in her usual taunting way.

"Me," she said calmly. "I was wondering whether I'd be meeting you here, Star-Born Child. Yes, I know exactly who you are, Akko Kagari."

"But I thought – Croix – "

"Croix?" Barbara laughed. "Yes, she does give off that kind of impression, doesn't she? So useful to have her swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to her, who would ever suspect – what did your friends call me? – Diana's groupie?"

Akko couldn't take it. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

"But Croix tried to kill me. She used a control device on Shooting Star."

"No, you massively stupid idiot. _I_ tried to kill you! As it turns out, I have an affinity for Magitronics, not that Diana ever cared to notice. I would have succeeded if your gloomy friend Sucy hadn't set off that gas explosion in the stands and forced me to drop my control at the Chariot Race. Another few seconds and I would have gotten you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Croix hadn't been trying to hack into my systems in her effort to save you."

"Croix was trying to _save_ me?"

"Of course," said Barbara coolly. "Why do you think she wanted to referee your next match? She was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really…she didn't need to bother. I couldn't do anything with Professor Holbrooke watching. All the other teachers thought Croix was trying to give herself an unfair advantage with her sudden decision, it _did_ seem a little more than suspicious…and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Faster than Akko could follow, Barbara whipped out her wand and muttered a quick spell. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Akko. As she struggled in vain to break her bonds, Barbara suddenly reached out and pulled off her necklace with a _snap_ of the cord.

"Hey, give that back, it's mine!" shouted Akko.

"No, Akko, it's mine," said Barbara eyeing the small jewel like it was made of gold. "And have been wanting to take this for a long time, ever since Halloween, in fact. When I saw this jewel through the eyes of the Minotaur, I was stunned. To think that I would find one right here in Luna Nova."

" _You_ let the Minotaur in?"

"Certainly. As I already explained, I have a certain gift for Magitronics, particularly in the field of artificial control. I had sent the Minotaur to the library hoping that it would lead the teachers away while at the same time I would finally have a chance to get rid of that spoiled brat, Diana."

"You were trying to kill Diana? Why? I thought she was your friend!"

"Diana doesn't have friends – she has servants. And while Hannah might be content with being Diana's flunky for the rest of her life, I have bigger aspirations. Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Croix, who had already suspected that I was stealing from her laboratory, went straight to the third floor to head me off – and not only did my Minotaur fail to beat Diana to death and take your necklace, that stupid polar bear couldn't even manage to bite Croix's leg off properly. Oh well, I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get past that monsters. That's was the point of our little scouting party that night after you had lucked your way out of expulsion."

"My duel with Diana…you were the one who tipped off Elma. You made all that noise hoping we would follow you when we ran away. You lead us to the third floor on purpose."

"See, you're not as dumb as they say you are," said Barbara with a cruel cackle. "After seeing what I was up against, I knew I was going to need a lot more power if I was to make it through the trials. After dark when everyone had gone to sleep, I would slip down to the Arcturus Forest and behead the creatures to drain them of them power. Harribel repeatedly tried tell Professor Holbrooke what was happening, but I was smart enough to detour her away from the castle to keep my actions hidden. And that night when you all turned up in the forest, I couldn't believe my luck. Another chance to kill Diana and to take your precious necklace away."

"Why are you so interested in my necklace?" asked Akko.

"You mean…you haven't the slightest clue?" said Barbara, breaking out in a fit of laughter. "Oh my god, you've been wearing this your whole life and you haven't even realized what it is? I would have thought Diana would have recognized one of the Stars of Arcturus after all the studying she did!"

Akko took a brief pause to process this new information. It was amazing, really. She had been wearing the same necklace her whole life and it had never occurred to her what it might have been. Thinking back, she should have suspected as much, having seen Shiny Rod in Chariot's old performances and the fact that it was Chariot who brought Akko to her parents all those years ago. It was a good idea, in a sense, to hide the Star among the most normal family in all of Japan, right up until Akko discovered magic, that is.

"The Star of Energy," Barbara muttered, focusing on the glinting jewel. "To think it would fall into my lap so easily. But it's useless without the Shiny Rod. So, wait quietly, Akko. I need to examine this interesting fountain."

It was only then that Akko realized what was standing behind Barbara. It was the Fountain of Polaris.

"This Fountain is the key to finding the Shiny Rod," Barbara murmured, tapping the surface of the water to make it ripple. "Trust Professor Holbrooke to come up with something like this…but she's in Era…I'll be long gone by the time she and Ursula come back…."

All Akko could think of doing was to keep Barbara talking and stop her from concentrating on the fountain.

"I saw Croix threaten Ursula in the forest and the classroom – " she blurted.

"As always, you never hear the whole story," said Barbara idly, walking around the fountain. "Yes, I was aware that they were all meeting in secret – I think they had their own little group trying to protect Shiny Rod. Croix was paranoid after she suspected me of stealing her technology. She was worried that Ursula might have let it slip how to get past the polar bear, not that it mattered in the end. They all told me willingly what I wanted to know after a few drinks. I was hoping the dragon egg I stole from a local poacher would have merited their dismissal and keep the path clear for me, but you put a stop to that…."

Barbara came back out from behind the fountain and stared hungrily into it.

"The Fountain of Polaris is supposed to provide answers…it's supposed to show the Shiny Rod…so where is it?"

Akko struggled against the ropes binding her, but they didn't give. She _had_ to keep Barbara from giving her whole attention to the fountain.

"I remember that there was something in the news about someone breaking into a vault at the Department of Demi-Humans. That was you, wasn't it? It happened on the same day I went to get registered. That's when I ran into Ursula; she was moving the Shiny Rod to Luna Nova. That means you've been planning this for a long time."

"Oh, yes, a very, _very_ long time," said Barbara quietly. "I had known about the Shiny Rod's existence through Diana. She, Hannah, and myself had been 'friends' ever since we were children because our parents knew each other, but I was the only one who realized that our parents were just using us to solidify the bonds between old witch houses. Our families had always cared more about the purity of our bloodlines rather than us in particular. I was one of the few people that knew about Diana's obsession with Shiny Chariot. You have no idea how many times I wanted to punch her in the face just to shut her up. But the more I began to learn about Chariot, but more I knew about the Shiny Rod and the limitless power it possessed.

"Shiny Chariot wasted it on stupid magic shows, but I was the only one who could see what it was truly capable of. I spent years tracing the location of the Shiny Rod through old news clippings and internet rumors until I finally found it hidden in vault one-nine-one in the Department of Demi-Humans. So when Diana, Hannah, and I went shopping for our school supplies, I slipped away to steal Shiny Rod while everyone was unaware…. But, as you already know, the transfer had already been completed by then. Apparently, Croix has been paying as much attention to my movements from the start…."

Barbara's voice trailed away. Akko was remembering her trip to Westfield London – the day when she first met Diana at Aikatsu Dress-Makers. Diana thought she had been looking for their school books.

Barbara cursed under her breath.

"I don't understand…is the Rod _inside_ the fountain? Should I drink it? Break it?"

Akko's mind was racing.

 _What I want more than anything else in the_ world _at the moment,_ she thought, _is to find the Shiny Rod before Barbara does. So if I look in the fountain, I should see myself finding it – which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Barbara realizing what I'm up to?_

She tried to edge to the left, to get a clear look at the fountain without Barbara noticing, but the ropes around her ankles were too tight: she tripped and fell over. Barbara heard the thump of Akko's body hitting the floor and rounded around to her, staring stupefied. Akko smiled with a nervous chuckle; Barbara suddenly looked elated.

"Yes – that's it – the Star-Born Child would have the answer – come here, Akko."

She whipped her wand across the air, and the ropes binding Akko fell off. Akko got slowly to her feet.

"Come here," Barbara repeated. "Look in the fountain and tell me what you see."

Akko walked toward her.

 _I have to lie_ , she thought desperately. _I have to look and lie about what I see, that's all._

Barbara moved close behind her. Akko closed her eyes, stepped in front of the Fountain of Polaris, and opened them again.

The chamber was gone, replaced by a seemingly endless background of white. Only two people there: one was herself and the other was… _Shiny Chariot_! Akko's idol smiled down at her. She put her hand inside of her cloak and whipped out a long golden rod with seven empty spaces in its surface. It was Shiny Rod. Chariot winked, pulled off Akko's hat, slipped the rod inside, and topped it on Akko's head once more.

Akko blinked again and she was suddenly back in the chamber with Barbara standing over her shoulder, leering at her intently. At the same time, Akko felt a sudden weight on her head, hidden underneath her pointed hat. Somehow – incredibly – _she had gotten Shiny Rod._

"Well?" said Barbara impatiently. "What do you see?"

Akko screwed up her courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Professor Holbrooke," she invented. "I – I've won the title of Moonlit Witch for the year."

Barbara cursed again.

"You useless little – get out of the way!" she spat.

As Akko stepped aside she felt the Shiny Rod weighing down on her head. She could make a break for it while Barbara was distracted, but she couldn't leave without the Star of Energy. Besides being a dangerous artifact, it was Akko's necklace first. She had it since she was a baby and wasn't about to give it up so easily.

So while Barbara kicked the fountain in a poor attempt to get answers from it, Akko slowly crept up behind and reached for the necklace dangling in her hand. Her finger only brushed the jewel before Barbara suddenly whipped around, shouting something Akko couldn't make out, and was blasted across the chamber. She hit the stone floor on her back, wincing from the impact, but even worse was that her hat had come off during the flight. The Shiny Rod clattered loudly on the ground. Barbara looked dumbstruck before she turned a furious glare on Akko.

"I knew you were lying to me!" she shouted.

Seeing no other way out of the situation, Akko quickly scrambled up to her feet and whipped out her own wand. Unfortunately, Barbara quickly held the upper hand. She didn't even need an incantation before she shot Akko's wand right out of her hand, sending it flying to the opposite end of the chamber. Akko considered just running up and punching her in the face, but Barbara shot another invisible volley that threw Akko backwards into the wall. Akko slumped down to the floor, her whole body feeling like it had just been trampled by a herd of bulls.

"Let's face it, Akko, you were never going to beat me," said Barbara tauntingly as she walked over and picked up the Shiny Rod. "Not after all the preparation I went through to prepare for tonight. Skulking around the forest stealing magic from those filthy animals. If it had been Diana that had come, she might have stood a chance. But I know Diana and her ridiculous belief in prophecy. Let me guess, she sent you ahead because she thought the Star-Born Child was supposed to save the world? For someone so smart, she is incredibly stupid."

Barbara was walking toward her with a wicked smile stretched across her face. She made a show as she ripped the cord off her necklace aroound the Star of Energy, holding it loftily over her head so that Akko could see clearly. When she placed the gem in the uppermost slot, a surge of energy rippled from the Shiny Rod, making the hairs on the back of Akko's neck stand up.

"Yes…this is it…real power!" Barbara cackled with glee before turning her gaze on Akko. "I was hoping that Diana would be the first one I used the Shiny Rod's power on, but the Star-Born Child is a pretty good second. After a whole years' worth of annoyances, I'll gladly be rid of you…. Now, Shiny Rod, _destroy her_!"

Akko closed her eyes, threw up her arms, and braced herself for the attack…but it never came. Carefully opening her eyes again, Akko looked up and saw the bewildered look on Barbara's face. She gritted her teeth and swung the rod again.

"I command you to destroy her!" Barbara shouted. The Rod remained inactive. "I don't get it! Why isn't this working?"

Barbara started violently shaking the Shiny Rod as if that would somehow make it work. Akko slowly and carefully stood up while Barbara's attention was away from her. Throwing all caution to the wind, Akko strode forward, pulled back her fist, and landed a clean blow across Barbara's face. The other witch flopped on the ground while unconsciously tossing Shiny Rod in the air. Akko scrambled back and forth underneath and caught it, though it nearly fumbled out of her hand. Letting out a sigh of relief, Akko returned her focus to Barbara, who was pulling herself up while nursing a bloody nose.

"I don't get it," said Barbara. "Why didn't it work? Is it a fake after all?"

"It's not enough just to have the Stars and Shiny Rod," said Akko, "but you also need to know the Seven Words of Arcturus to use them. Looks like you missed that part in your research."

"So there are magic words involved, too," Barbara sneered. "Fine. A little more research won't hurt anything. Hand over the Rod, Akko."

"Never!" Akko shouted.

"Don't be stupid," said Barbara. "You think you can still beat me? Like you said, just because you have the Shiny Rod doesn't mean you know how to use it. If I don't know the magic words, then you sure as hell don't."

But that's where Barbara was wrong; she did know the words. She hadn't realized it at first, but Akko had been hearing the words repeated in her dreams ever since the day she learned she was a Demi-Human. She could still hear them even now; Shiny Chariot's voice echoing in the back of her mind like a guiding song.

Akko took a deep breath and the words slipped from her lips so naturally:

" _ **Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor**_!"

A flaring green light enveloped the Shiny Rod, suddenly became unraveled in threads of light and weaving together into a new shape. What had once been a simple staff had now transformed into an intricate golden bow with silver string that glistened in the weak light of the Fountain. And while Barbara was paralyzed in shock and awe, Akko's fingers glided to the string and pulled. An arrow with a brilliant green head materialized in her grip. Akko could feel the power radiating from the arrowhead; it was so difficult to hold on, Akko felt like her fingers would rip apart at any moment.

Clearly sensing the danger, Barbara turned tail and ran towards the door, but Akko's finger had already let loose, screaming at the top of her lungs:

" **SHINY ARC!** "

Akko's vision was filled with a powerful green light; she could feel the floor and walls quivering around her; the sound of shattering stone rumbled in her ears.

And then, she knew nothing….

* * *

Something gold was glinting just above her. Maybe it was a ring. Those are worth a hundred points. She tried to catch it, but her arms were too heavy.

She blinked. It wasn't a ring at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.

She blinked again. The smiling face of Miranda Holbrooke swam into view above her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kagari," said Professor Holbrooke.

Akko stared at her. Then she remembered: "Professor! Shiny Rod! It was Barbara! She's got the Shiny Rod! Professor, quick – "

"Calm yourself, dear girl, you are a little behind the times," said Professor Holbrooke. "Barbara does not have the Shiny Rod."

"Then who does? Professor, I – "

"Akko, please, relax, or Miss Porlyusica will have me thrown out."

Akko swallowed and looked around her. She realized she must be in the hospital wing. She was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to her was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Professor Holbrooke, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Barbara is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe it was your guardian Blair who was responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt she thought it would amuse you. Miss Porlyusica, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long had I been in here?"

"Three days. Your friends will be most relieved that you have come around, they've been extremely worried."

"But professor, the Shiny Rod – "

"I see you are not to be distracted. Then if that is the case, I suggest you look at your hand."

Akko raised a brow and looked down, only now realizing that her fingers were firmly wrapped around the Shiny Rod.

"You refused to let go of it ever since Professor Ursula found you in the dungeons," said Professor Holbrooke amusingly. "We've tried everything we could to pry it from your hand, but you have a very sturdy grip. Either way, I sincerely doubt we would have been able to take it far. According to Professor Ursula, the Shiny Rod had already bonded with you by the time she arrived."

"She got there? She got Diana's message?"

"Never had the chance to. No sooner had we reached Era than Professor Ursula felt we were needed back here in Luna Nova. I have always learned to trust Professor Ursula's instincts. She went on ahead of me and arrived just in time to find you and Barbara lying there on the ground."

"Wait, what happened to Barbara?" asked Akko, suddenly feeling worried. "Did I…I didn't…."

"Barbara is all right," said Professor Holbrooke, patting Akko's knee lightly. "It was very impressive how you managed to use the Shiny Arc on your first try, but your aim could use a bit of work. Your shot missed by a mile. But the sheer terror of the experience knocked Miss Barbara out cold. It seems like she'll be thinking twice before going up against you again."

"The Shiny Rod is safe," said Akko, sighing in relief. "So…what happens now? With the Shiny Rod, I mean?"

"As I already said, the Shiny Rod has bonded with you, Miss Kagari," said professor Holbrooke. "The Shiny Rod is something that is unknown to us, even after centuries of studying it from some of the best researches like Jellal Fernandes, as you already know – yes, I am well aware of what you and your friends have been up to. Blair has told me everything." She answered before Akko could open her mouth. "From what we can understand, the Shiny Rod has some level of sentience and is particularly fickle in regards to those who wield it. The fact that the Shiny Rod has accepted you is a good sign."

"It's because I'm the Star-Born Child, isn't it?"

"No, I do not think that has anything to do with it. Having some grandiose title or exaggerated prophecy does not make you any different than who you were before you learned all this. I never particularly held much faith in destiny or preordained events. I believe that we all have a choice in our lives. Some of the greatest witches and mages in history have tried to command the Shiny Rod's power, but many of them have failed because they lacked a certain quality."

"What quality?" asked Akko.

"I will not pretend to know what that quality is, but I am willing to venture a guess," said Professor Holbrooke. "That spell you used down in the dungeon erm…what was it called again?"

"Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor," Akko recited easily.

"Yes, that one," said Professor Holbrooke with a chuckle. "Do you know what it means?"

Akko shook her head.

"It's actually a rough translation," said Professor Holbrooke, "but it means: 'Those that try to achieve their dreams must go through hardships. There may come times when you fail and lose sight of that dream. But you must never let the flame in your heart go out. Burn that flame brightly, and strive for your ideal place'. Or you could shorten it to 'Strive for your ideal place'. Essentially what it means is that you should work hard and never give up on your dreams."

"Diana and Professor Ursula both said I had a special power," muttered Akko thoughtfully. "They said I had to power to follow my dreams and inspire others."

"Well, they are smart, after all," said Professor Holbrooke, smiling.

Akko lay there, lost for words. Professor Holbrooke hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Professor?" said Akko. "I've been thinking…This whole time, I thought that Ara – I mean, the Eclipse Queen – "

"Call her Aradia, Akko. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, ma'am. Well, it might not have been Araida behind it this time, but she's still out there, right? Now that Shiny Rod's back, she's going to come after it, isn't she?"

"I wonder about that," Professor Holbrooke hummed thoughtfully. "Rumors persist that Aradia is still out there, perhaps looking for a way to return to power…but often times I wonder if she is not truly dead and gone. I cannot honestly say as I have never truly had the chance to face her myself. In truth, no one has ever seen Aradia other than Chariot Du Nord. Nobody knows what Aradia is truly capable of, and that is what makes her name so frightening to speak. People always fear what they do not understand. Nevertheless, Miss Kagari, while you may only be able to delay her return, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems like a losing battle next time – and if she is delayed again, and again, why, she may never return to power."

Akko nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made her head throb. Then she said, "Professor, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me…things I want to know the truth about…."

"The truth," Professor Holbrooke sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"It's just something I've been thinking about for a while. Everyone assumes the Star-Born Child was born when the Grand Triskellion was destroyed and magic was freed. But I know I have a birth mother, maybe even parents that are still out there. So why me? What makes me so special?"

Professor Holbrooke sighed very deeply this time.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. It is not my place. You are right in assuming that your parents are still out there. They are working tirelessly to protect our world from the darkness, and unfortunately, they were not fit to raise a child due to the circumstances. They had to leave shortly after you were born. That is why I took it upon myself to send you to a home where you would be loved when they could not provide for you. You will see them again one day, Miss Kagari…put it from your mind for now. When you are older…I know you hate to hear this…when you are ready, they will find you."

And Akko knew it would be no good to argue.

"The Ring of Gyges belonged to my mom," she said. "Do you know who sent it."

"That would be Professor Ursula's doing," said Professor Holbrooke. "Your mother and Professor Ursula were close friends during their school days. She left it in her possession just before she left. Useful thing…your mother mainly used it for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when she was a student here."

Akko tried to understand this but it made her head pound, so she stopped.

"And professor, there's one more thing…"

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Shiny Rod from the Fountain of Polaris?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant idea, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find_ the Shiny Rod – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just be standing around looking at a bubble of water for the rest of their life. My brain surprises even me sometimes…. Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on those sweets. Ah! Squid Sister's Color Splashers! I absolutely love these! Unfortunately, I tend to make quite a mess with them and I'm sure Miss Porlyusica will flog me if I ruin her pristine hospital wing – but if I'm careful…."

She smiled and popped one into her mouth. Unfortunately, her mouth was open when she bit down on it and sprayed Akko in a rainbow of juices.

"Oops, sorry," she apologized.

* * *

Miss Porlyusica, the nurse, was a vindictive old crone that absolutely hated people. How she ever agreed to work in Luna Nova was a mystery.

"Just five minutes," Akko pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Holbrooke in…."

"Well, of course, that was the headmistress, quite different. You need _rest_."

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, come on, please…"

"Oh, very well," she said with an annoyed grunt. "But five minutes _only_."

And she let Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka in.

" _Akko!_ "

Lotte looked ready to fling her arms around her, but Akko was glad she held herself in as her head was still very sore. As she looked around, she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Diana?" asked Akko.

"Trying to convince the staff not to expel Barbara," answered Amanda. "I say we should throw her out after what she did, but Diana thinks she can get rehab. She's a better person than I am."

"Oh, Akko, we were so worried you were going to – Professor Ursula was so worried – " sputtered Lotte.

"The whole school's talking about it," said Sucy. "What _really_ happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even stranger and more exciting than the wild rumors. Akko told them everything: Barbara, the fountain, her necklace, and the Shiny Rod. Her friends were a very good audience; they gasped at all the right places, and when Akko described how she summoned Shiny Arc, Constanze threw up her fists in a silent cheer.

"So they just let you keep it?" said Sucy, eyeing the Shiny Rod. "Just like that?"

"Professor Holbrooke says the Shiny Rod and I bonded, so it's better if it sticks with me."

"I always had a feeling she might not be qualified to run this school," said Amanda, looking quite impressed at how crazy the headmistress was.

"So what happened to the rest of you?"

"Well, when Diana came back, everything went all right," said Jasminka. "We carried Constanze out of there – she was unconscious for a while – and we were running back through the rooms until we ran into Sucy. Lotte sang to Arcas and Sucy used a potion to make a vine for us to climb. We were just about to send a message to Professor Holbrooke when Professor Ursula burst through the door – she already knew – she just said, 'Akko's gone after her, hasn't she' and jumped down through the trapdoor."

"Do you think she meant for you to do it?" said Sucy. "Sending you to find the rod and everything?"

" _Well,_ " Lotte exploded, "if she did – I mean to say – that's terrible – you could have been killed!"

"No, it isn't," said Akko thoughtfully. "It was in her own weird way, but I think Professor Ursula helped me – and Croix. I think they sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think they know more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I think they had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, they just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident she let me find out how the fountain worked. It's almost like she thought I had the right to go after Shiny Rod if I could…."

"Yeah, Holbrooke's definitely not qualified to run this school," said Amanda proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-the-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Eclipse won, of course – you missed the last race, we were steamrolled without you and Shooting Star – but the food will be good."

At that moment, Porlyusica bustled over and started whacking them with a broom.

"You've been here for nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT!" she screamed shrilly.

* * *

After a good night's sleep, Akko felt nearly back to normal.

"I want to go to the feast," she whined to Porlyusica as she straightened her many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"

"Professor Holbrooke says you are to be allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Holbrooke didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."

"Oh, good," said Akko. "Who is it?"

Professor Ursula sidled through the door as she spoke. Porlyusica walked off quietly to give them some privacy as she sat down next to Akko. Neither she nor Akko said anything; an awkward pause lingered between them; until Ursula finally spoke up.

"I'm truly sorry for everything that I have put you through this year," said Ursula. "You probably already figured out from your friends that I was aware of what Barbara was planning, although I didn't know she was the one attacking the creatures in the forest or that she was the one who slipped us the dragon egg while we were drunk at the bar. She's clever, but has poor sense of judgment. Croix was constantly warning me not to let it happen, but I did and you nearly died for it. I'm sorry."

"It was nothing," said Akko lightly. "You wouldn't have done it if you didn't think I had a chance. You're a good teacher and a good friend – I Know you would never do anything to put me in danger on purpose."

"You're a lot more forgiving than Croix, that's for certain," said Ursula jokingly. "She's still giving me the silent treatment. She's such a – what do the Japanese call it? – a tsundere? Something like that."

"Well, it's good to know she cares," said Akko. "It was hard, but everything worked out in the end. Shiny Rod is safe, Diana is talking about Barbara getting some help, and Aradia isn't anywhere near Luna Nova, if anywhere at all. Everything turned out our way…. But while you're here, there's something I wanna ask you, Professor Ursula."

"After all I put you through, answering your questions is the least I can do."

"Professor Holbrooke said that you and my mom were good friends when you were students," said Akko. Ursula's face became noticeably rigid; she knew what she was going to say. "That started to make me think – Sucy would probably say something about hurting my brain. But it's funny, because you talked about all of your friends during our first week and you never said anything about my mom, so I assume it's one of those people in the photo you showed us. Blair once told me Shiny Chariot dropped me off at my mom and dad's house and Professor Holbrooke said my mom disappeared shortly after I was born, which was right around the same time Shiny Chariot disappeared too."

Ursula's hands clutched the fabric of her tunic, her eyes wandering downward in a guilty sense.

"Professor…," Akko murmured in a tiny voice, "…is Shiny Chariot my mother?"

Ursula let out a deep sigh just like Professor Holbrooke, then looked back at Akko with a sad smile.

"I keep forgetting how smart you really are given your…tendencies," she said. "Yes…Shiny Chariot is your mother. After what happened at the Grand Triskellion, she knew she couldn't raise you herself no matter how much she wanted to. But she didn't give you away because she didn't love you, Akko. The reason she left you with the Kagaris was _because_ she loved you so much. You deserved so much more than what she could give you…and I'll bet she's counting down the days to when she can see you again."

"Shiny Chariot is still out there, right?" asked Akko. "Saving the world?"

"I wouldn't say she's saving it so much…but yes, she's still out there," answered Ursula.

"This is…SO AWESOME!" Akko cheered, pumping her fists into the air. Ursula nearly fell out of her seat in shock. "My mom – my real mom – is SHINY CHARIOT! I knew there was a reason why she was so awesome! Take that, Diana Cavendish! My mom is cooler than yours!"

"You're…certainly taking this well," said Ursula, scratching her chin awkwardly.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Akko chittered. "If I find all the Stars of Arcturus, do you think I'll be able to meet Shiny Chariot – I mean, my mom! That's the reason why she wanted the Shiny Rod moved to Luna Nova on the same day I got accepted, right? Because she wanted me to have it?"

"Actually, that's more of a coincidence…," said Ursula nervously.

"All right, I know what to do!" said Akko with a firm grin. "I'll collect all the Stars of Arcturus and then I'll see my mom again!"

Ursula gaped at Akko like she had never seen anything like her before, but then smile with a hearty laugh.

"Here, I want you to have something," said Ursula as she reached into her pocket. "It's not much, but I figured you deserved something more personal to remember your mother than a bunch of memorabilia."

Akko blinked curiously as Ursula handed her a small photograph. She flipped it over and gasped. It was the photo of Chariot, Croix, Izetta, Athena, and Blair from when they were students; the first photo Ursula showed her that day they had tea. Seeing Chariot as a child and knowing that little girl was gonna grow up to be her mother, it made Akko's heart flutter.

"So…do you like it?"

Akko couldn't speak, but Ursula understood.

* * *

Akko made her way down to the end-of-the-year feast alone that night. She had been held up by Porlyusica fussing about, insisting on giving her one last check up, so the dining room was already full. It was decked out in the Eclipse colors of purple and black to celebrate Eclipse winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Eclipse symbol covered the wall behind the statues of the Nine Olde Witches.

When Akko walked in there was sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. She slipped into a seat between Lotte and Constanze and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at her. Diana, Hannah, and Barbara were sitting at the table directly next to them; it looked like Barbara hadn't been expelled after all. When she caught sight of Akko, she squeaked and hid herself under the table. Akko grinned; she was gonna have fun with this.

Professor Holbrooke arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Professor Holbrooke said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old woman's ramblings before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were…you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts….

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand as thus: In fifth place, Polaris, with three hundred and twenty-two points.; in fourth place, Corona, with three hundred and fifty-two points; Twilight is third with four hundred and sixteen; Lunar had four hundred and forty-five and Eclipse, four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stomping broke out from the Eclipse students. Akko could see Bayonetta banging her glass on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes, well done, Eclipse," said Professor Holbrooke. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Eclipse's smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Professor Holbrooke. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...

"First – to Miss Lotte Jansson...for keeping a level head in the face of chaos and unparalleled loyalty to her friends, I award Polaris house thirty points."

Lotte buried her face in her arms as the Polaris cheered; Akko strongly suspected she had burst into tears.

"Second – to Miss Sucy Manbavaran…for her astounding work in the field of pharmaceutical magics and her overwhelming victories in the face of certain peril, I award Polaris house thirty points."

Sucy actually smiled for once as the Polaris started running up to her, patting her back and praising her.

"Third – to Miss Amanda O'Neill…for exceptional broom riding skills and her unfathomable courage, I award Polaris house thirty points."

Amanda jumped up and join in the next round of cheers. Polaris students throughout the dining room were besides themselves – they were ninety points up and jumped straight to third.

"Fourth – to Miss Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger…for displaying remarkable intelligence beyond expectation and praiseworthy skills as an inventor, I award Polaris house thirty points."

For the first time ever, Constanze actually looked embarrassed, but that was probably because Amanda was hugging her from the side.

"Fifth – to Miss Jasminka Antonenko…for braving dangers and cruelties that would bend many and for never backing down from them, I award Polaris house thirty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Polaris now had four hundred and seventy-two points- exactly the same as Eclipse. They had tied for the house cup – if only Professor Holbrooke had given them just one more point.

Professor Holbrooke raised her hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"Finally – There are all kinds of courage," said Holbrooke, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, just as much to stand up to our friends, but what takes true valor…to look at ourselves and have the courage to change. To push away our fears and open our hearts to another. I therefore award thirty points…to Miss Diana Cavendish."

Someone standing outside the dining room might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted. Even though it seemed like everything had been building for Polaris to win only for Lunar to swoop in and steal victory, none of them were upset because it still meant the downfall of the Eclipse. Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka stood up to yell and cheer as Diana, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging her. Akko, still cheering, nudged Lotte in the ribs and pointed at Bayonneta, who had smashed her glass on the floor in a fit of anger.

"Which means," Professor Holbrooke called over the storm of applause, for even Corona and Twilight were celebrating, "we need a little change of decoration."

She clapped her hands. In an instant, the purple hangings became blue and the black became silver. Croix was shaking hands with Professor Finnelan, who looked this close to breaking out into a jig. Croix caught Akko's eye and gave her a smile and a wink. Right now, Akko could hardly believe she ever suspected someone like Croix to be evil; she needed to apologize after the feast.

"Yes, yes, I know you are excited," said Professor Holbrooke, "but we still have one more matter to attend to."

With a wave of her hands, Professor Holbrooke summoned a beautiful cloak and hat from thin air. The cloak was a glistening white that looked like it was made from the feathers of an angel and hat bore the Luna Nova symbol between a pair of elk horns. Everyone fell silent and stared at the cloth with noticeable desire.

"The title of Moonlit Witch," said Professor Holbrooke, "is awarded to the most exceptional witch of the year, a proud symbol of your dedication and hard work. Now, the staff and I have discussed long and hard who would deserve such a prestigious title, and let me tell you, it was not easy to decide. But after much deliberation we have chosen to bequeath this to someone who has overcome many hardships in the face of adversity. When others would laugh and mock, this exceptional witch would preserver and pursue her dream without fail. We of Luna Nova are proud to present the title of Moonlit Witch…to Miss Atsuko Kagari."

So stunned was Akko that she did not hear the explosions of applause that surrounded her or the feeling of Professor Holbrooke personally draping her with the Moonlit Witch cloak and hat. She had always been called the failure…she never once believed that she would even be in the running for the title. She finally snapped out of her trance when Amelia O'Neill pulled Akko onto her shoulders for everyone to see. Crowds of people all gathered around her, chanting Akko's name (except for Eclipse, of course). And standing all by herself, away from the crowd, Diana was smiling and clapping just for her.

It was the best evening of Akko's life, better than winning at Chariot Races, Christmas, or beating down minotaurs…she would never, ever forget tonight.

* * *

Akko had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. As to be expected, Akko nearly failed in all of her practical exams, but more than made up for it with her outstanding scores on the written exams; Diana, of course, had the best grades of the first years. They did find Barbara's test results and were none too surprised to see she had ranked third among their year behind Diana and Constanze; she had to be exceptionally gifted if she passed all the trails by herself. Amanda had hoped that Hannah would have flunked, but she had decently average scores. It was a shame, but as Amanda said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Blair was sunbathing in the window, nearly forgotten until Akko ran back to get her; Professor Ursula was there to take them down the path to the gate through the Ley Lines and through the forest back to the train station; they were boarding the silver bullet train; talking and laughing as the scenery blurred through the windows; eating Squid Sister's Color Splashers as they sped past New Delhi; pulling into the Yamanote Line in Shibuya Station.

Akko, Nanoha Takamachi, and a few other Japanese students were pulling down their trunks and walking off onto the platform. Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka leaned out the windows.

"You have to come and spend a summer in New York," said Amanda, "I could show you the sights – nothing too touristy, though."

"Thanks," said Akko, "but I think I'll wanna spend a little time with my friends before I get out my passport. I haven't seen them for almost a year."

People jostled them as they exited the train. Some of them called:

"Bye, Akko!"

"See ya, Kagari!"

"Looks like someone's popular," said Sucy, smirking at her.

"I just hope Hikari doesn't find out," said Akko. "She'll never let me hear the end of it."

"There she is, Yuki-Chan, Kyoko-chan, it's Akko-chan! Hey, Akko-Chan!"

And speak of the vampire, Hikari, Yuki, and Kyoko were running down the stairs followed shortly behind by Akko's parents. Akko braced herself as Hikari tackled her to the ground; she could hear Sucy snickering.

"Akko-chan, I missed you!" cried Hikari.

"Yeah, yeah, now get off me!" snapped Akko.

"They seem like good people," said Lotte.

"Are you Akko's friends?" asked Yuki, bowing to Lotte and the others. "Thanking you for taking such good care of Akko."

"Believe me, it wasn't easy," said Amanda; Constanze nodded in agreement.

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari helped their daughter up and hugged her with everything they had.

"Busy year?" said Mrs. Kagari.

"Like you wouldn't believe," said Akko, giggling.

"You can tell us all about it on the way to Midori-ya," said Mr. Kagari. "Lunch is on me."

Akko's old friends cheered at the same time the loud, bellowing horn sounded from the front of the platform. The train started to move. Lotte and the other waved and shouted their good-byes and Akko waved in return, not stopping until the train had turned around the bend and disappeared in a blur.

Her first year at Luna Nova Academy had been such a thrilling and emotional one. As she reached into her bag and felt the cool surface of Shiny Rod, Akko couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next….

* * *

...But somewhere very far away, in an undisclosed location, men plotted in shadows.

Sitting along in the darkenss with only a candle for a light source, a man stooped low over a tattered old book, peering the faded words with captivated interest. He was slow to turn the pages, not wanting to miss a single letter and he deciphered their meaning. He didn't know how long he had been there - his whole body felt stiff, so it must have been hours.

And then, out of the shadows, another man stepped into the candle light, drapped in a tattered whiterobe, his chest exposed to display his messy collection of burn scars that stretched from one side to the other.

"It is done," said the man in white. "Akko Kagari has left Luna Nova with the Claiomh Solias in hand. She will likely begin her search for the other Stars of Arcturus very soon."

"Well done, Ruvik, very well done," said the shadow man, still pouring over his book. "Influencing Barbara England into stealing the Claiomh Solais, thereby setting off the chain of events that would lead to Kagari acquiring it for herself. Absolutely brilliant."

"The girl already hated Cavendish," said Ruvik. "All I did was bring it to the surface."

"Now that Akko Kagari had the Claiomh Solais, the first chapter of her story is complete," said the man in shadow with a knowing chuckle. "Everything falls into place."

He shut the book on the table and the the faded golden writing of the title was illuminated by the candle: **_Aradia Series Vol. II – The Book of Midday_**

* * *

 **Now there are probably a few things you are all wondering: Aradia is supposed to be the Voldemort of this series, so why didn't she appear? Why leave the villain as only Barbara? Well, there's a lot bigger mystery behind that and Aradia may not be what she appears.**

 **And some of you are probably wondering why I named Shiny Chariot as Akko's mother early on in the series. Well, if you haven't figured out that part by now, the rest of the series will just confuse you. There was no way I could ever make any mentioning of Akko's birth parents without making it too obvious, so might as well get it out in the open. Akko still doesn't know that Ursula and Chariot are the same person (but we all do), so I'll still have something of a shock factor when the big reveal happens.**

 **So please leave a review and I'll see you in Book 2: Akko Kagari and the Evil Within.**


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